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[mcarter]

Teburman,

I do think the attic is underinsulated.  There is a cold air return but that connects to the attic heat pump system which is not associated with the main level unit which contains the hx/air from the OWB.  I'm beginning to think it may be easier to add a hx/air to the attic unit to avoid potental insurance issues from installing a grate/vent (assuming this would allow a cold air return to the main level?)

Michael

[teburman]

I think if I was in your position I would add hx/air to the attic unit this will most likely solve your problem.

As far as cold air return goes: if the cold air can’t return to the heat source then it is in effective. The heat needs to circulate through the heated space. The medium carrying the heat needs to go in "hot" and come out "cold".

If you think the attic is under insulated then by all means add what you need. Most of the insulation manufacturer web sites give instructions on how to determine your current R value as well as the recommeded R Value for your location. You will then be able to calculate how much material you will need if your insulation is deficient.  I just added 12 inches of blown in cellulose to the attic in the apartment building. The actual insulation process wasn’t that big of a deal to do, one guy on the nozzle one guy feeding the machine and one guy dragging hose. It helps to have walkie talkies for each of the crew. I installed 65 bags of the stuff. The use of the machine was free. It took about four hours. But you need to take care not to block off any of the roof ventilation. You may have to install rafter vent baffles http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=diy.diy_rafter_vents . I had to install some and that part wasn’t fun I worked on it for a couple hours a day after work for a week! It was hard to get to and had to work while straddling the rafters so I didn’t break through the ceiling. Glad to be done with this project!!

Good luck.