(MCT)—Question: We have an attic with a set of steps that pulls down from the ceiling. In the winter, we keep an insulated foam dome in the attic that covers the folded steps and the trap door that they are attached to.
This helps to keep the heat in the house and to keep the cold air in the attic. My question is, should we leave the foam dome in place in the summer?
My thoughts are that heat needs to escape and we should move the foam dome off of the folded steps and door. But then I’m concerned that the heat going up to the attic will also pull our air-conditioned air along with it.
Answer: Warm air rises and cold air falls, but since your attic gets hot in the winter, you might want to have the dome in place to keep the warm air in the attic and not leaking into the space around the folding stairs where it might add to the efforts of the air-conditioning.
You wouldn’t remove the insulation from your attic in the summer, so I wouldn’t remove the foam dome.
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