Q&A Spotlight: Are Raised Heal Trusses Worth the Extra Cost?

If you're building a new roof, there's a design detail worth knowing about: raised-heel trusses. Standard roof trusses taper down to a thin point at the eaves, right where the roof meets the exterior walls. That taper squeezes out room for insulation exactly where you don't want a weak spot, and it can make it hard to both insulate fully and keep attic ventilation working. In cold climates, that thin strip of insulation at the edge can contribute to ice dams.

Raised-heel trusses (also called energy-heel trusses) fix this by adding height between the wall and the roof's angled top chord, leaving room for full-depth insulation, a ventilation channel, and better sealing against air leaks. The tradeoff is cost: they're more expensive than standard trusses, and builders sometimes push back on that added expense, arguing that most of the attic will hit the target insulation level anyway and only the perimeter falls short.

A homeowner planning a new build or a major roof replacement raised this exact question in an online builder forum: is the extra cost of raised heels worth it, given that only the edges of the attic are affected? The debate centered on how much of a difference that perimeter strip really makes to comfort and energy use, and how tall the raised heel needs to be to solve the problem without overpaying for height you don't need. If you're planning new construction or a full roof rebuild, this is a detail to bring up with whoever designs your trusses, since it affects both your heating bills and your risk of ice dams later on.