Your home’s insulation may be more important than you realize. While couches, fireplaces and easy chairs can make your home more comfortable, when it comes to livable temperatures, your HVAC system isn’t the only difference-maker.
Though it’s not always readily apparent, your home’s insulation can leave your home feeling uncomfortably warm or cool depending on the weather outside. Poor insulation can also lead to higher energy costs, so it pays to know how to spot the signs that your home’s insulation isn’t up to snuff. Here are five things to watch for.
Soaring energy costs
We touched on it above, but poor insulation in your home means that your heat or air conditioning is going to have to work harder to achieve the desired interior temperature.
One good way to track this is to keep records detailing how much you’re paying for energy each month; if there are unexplained energy-cost increases, your insulation might be to blame.
It fails the touch test
You can test the walls, ceiling and floors of your home by touching them with your hand. The interior walls should feel warm and dry if they are properly insulated.
You can detect poor insulation in your home if the walls feel cold and/or damp. Cold or damp walls mean your home is losing heat due to insufficient insulation.
Different rooms are different temperatures
The whole goal of insulating your home is to provide a consistent and comfortable interior temperature throughout your house, across the board and in every room.
If your kitchen is too warm but your living room is frigid, this could be a sign of inadequate insulation—especially if one room shares an exterior wall and one doesn’t.
Cold drafts in the fall and winter
If all your windows are closed during chillier weather, you shouldn’t be subjected to chilly drafts of air in various rooms throughout your home. This could be caused by substandard insulation around your windows and doorframes.
Windows are the main way a house loses heat, so having them properly insulated is crucial to your comfort and your energy bill.
Presence of rodents and insects
Poor insulation around your windows and doors may not only make you uncomfortable, but it could also lead to mice and bugs making their way into your home.
These pests often creep in through small gaps in doorframes and window frames—the very same gaps that can release the air that you’re trying to heat or cool! Solid insulation can remedy multiple problems at once.
Call for insulation services today
The only thing worse than having poor insulation in your home is not having the ability to detect the problems you’re having with your insulation. The signs above should give you a heads-up that something’s wrong with your home’s insulation.
If that’s the case, give the experts at 5 Star Performance Insulation, Inc. a call today. We always aim to help you not only save money, but to live in comfort as well. We look forward to hearing from you soon.