6 Signs Your House Has Bad Insulation
There are many stunning old homes in neighborhoods all across St. Louis and nearby communities. They are unique with great character. They can be a massive chore to maintain and update. And they can be ridiculously expensive to heat – especially for a poorly insulated house.
Deciding to live in an older home can come to a shock to homeowners come winter. Those high gas and energy bills keep going up as the temperatures go down.
And this isn’t just a problem for old homes. While newer houses benefit from modern construction that keeps down these problems, drafts can still be an expensive problem in just about any home.
How can you improve the comfort and energy efficiency of a drafty house?
Fortunately, there are many solutions to dealing with house drafts. Some ways you can block out the cold air are relatively easy. However, the most effective ways to keep a drafty house warm are not cheap nor easy.
Home Insulation 101
What is insulation?
Insulation is a material that is put in a wall or attic space to stop heat loss in the winter and losing cool air in the hot months. There are several types of insulation, including loose-fill insulation (cellulose), fiberglass, and foam insulation which is sprayed into the walls.
It can be a big expensive job to get new insulation put in throughout a home. But it is a valuable investment. A house that is properly insulated is important for both home comfort and cost-saving energy efficiency.
A home with inadequate insulation will likely leave you and your family feeling uncomfortable throughout most rooms in your house. A poorly insulated home also forces your furnace to work a lot harder than it should to keep your home at comfortable temperatures.
If you have a home that is poorly insulated, what can you do to improve your comfort and lower your energy bills?
If it is not a viable option to get more or new insulation for your home, there are some good news. You can take some simple steps to improve how well your home stays warm in the winter.
Keeping a Poorly Insulated Home Warm
Cover windows with plastic window seals. You can attach these large pieces of plastic to the frame. They work to keep out cold air that comes in through leaks in your windows.
- Put up thermal curtains over windows.
- Put a draft stopper in doors to the basement and garage. These devices help seal your door from cold air getting in from the gap at the bottom.
- Have your heating system regularly maintained and always make sure it is running with a clean air filter. Basic tune-up checks help ensure a furnace will efficiently heat the entire home. Call Indoor Comfort Team at (314) 230-9542 for our professional heating system maintenance service.
- Consider switching to (or adding) a ductless mini split system. Ductless systems provide both heating and cooling for a space. A mini split unit can be a great solution if you have a room with poor insulation and/or lack ductwork.
6 Signs Your House Is Under Insulated
How can you know if your home is poorly insulated? You don’t have to break into your walls to see the clues of a poorly insulated home.
- Your house has inconsistent temperatures. Is your kitchen hot in the summer but your bathroom is freezing in the winter? That is a sign that those rooms do not have sufficient insulation.
- Your energy bills are higher than they should be. If you are losing heat (or cool air in the summer), your HVAC system will have to run more frequently to maintain your thermostat setting. You pay the price for this inefficiency in your monthly utility bills.
- Your home feels drafty.
- Your walls feel cold in the winter.
- Insects, mice, bats, or other small creatures are getting inside your house.
- You can hear your neighbors. Good insulation is a noise barrier, so being able to easily hear outside sounds is a sign your home is poorly insulated.
Sometimes a house will only have inadequate insulation in just a few rooms or a portion of the home. You may only need to add insulation to rooms with the worst cold issues during the winter.
Time for a Furnace Upgrade?
If you see a decline in how well your home stays warm over the years, an old heating system may be your ultimate problem. Is your furnace more than 15 years old? Good furnaces that are professionally installed can last 20 or more years, or even longer if regular maintenance is done on the system.
If you are not sure if your furnace is adequately heating your home anymore, contact the St Louis area of heating experts here at Indoor Comfort Team. We can perform maintenance work on your system and identify whether your furnace is still working well enough to heat your entire home.
We provide free estimates for new furnace installation. When you trust our team with installing a new heater for you home, you can be sure that your home has a modern system that will keep your home warm and save you on energy costs.
Call Indoor Comfort Team at (314) 230-9542 or you can request service through our online form.
