The average Connecticut homeowner spends nearly $6,000 a year on utilities, and heating and cooling systems are responsible for a large chunk of this.
Homeowners face many challenges when it comes to the maintenance of their home and one of these is poor insulation.
If you have higher-than-usual energy bills, insulation may be to blame. Improper insulation can also cause more issues.
Is it time for an insulation replacement? Read on for more.
1. High Energy Bills
When you begin to notice your electric bills have gone up, your first instinct is to walk around turning off the lights. However, though we like to save energy any way we can, most people realize turning off the lights doesn’t make much of a difference in their overall utility bills.
The culprit of high energy bills is poor insulation. When your attic or crawl space doesn’t have the proper insulation, the cold or hot temperatures will sneak into your home.
You will notice yourself cranking up the heat or the A/C down but the temperature doesn’t seem to change. Well, this is because your home is not properly insulated.
Your HVAC systems will have to work overtime and you will continue to see high energy bills unless you take a look at the insulation.
2. Temperature Fluctuations
Have you ever noticed how the temperature feels comfortable when you’re in the living room, but in another room, it feels like it’s a few degrees colder or hotter?
If this is the case, it’s a sign your insulation is not regulating the temperature in each room evenly. Often times we have cold air infiltration through the lower parts of the house and lose heat through the top of the house.
3. Cold Floors and Walls
If it’s wintertime and you have the heater going, the walls and floors of your house should feel dry and warm. When you touch them and feel the opposite, it means your home doesn’t have enough insulation.
4. You Get a Draft Indoors
When the winter months arrive, your home should be the perfect cozy getaway from the harsh winter temperatures.
Have you ever been comfortable on the couch watching television and suddenly feel a draft of cold air? This means that areas of your home (sometimes around windows, doors and baseboards need to be air sealed.
5. Rooms Are Colder Than Usual
Have you noticed the bathroom is colder than any other room, for example? When there are certain rooms in your house that are inexplicably colder than other rooms, you might be dealing with an insulation issue.
These rooms are the often ones that are directly below the attic or above the basement or garage.
With proper air sealing and insulation, you can make sure those rooms are as comfortable as the rest.
6. Unwelcome Guests
Every homeowner out there fears the thought of having a critter infestation. Critters, such as insects and rodents, love to sneak into houses through the cracks and crevices they can find.
These are the same cracks and crevices that let the cold air in and the warm air out. If you add more insulation to these areas, critters will be less likely to get in.
You have to also keep in mind that if you previously had an infestation, you might have to replace your insulation. Spray foam insulation is a great way to close of those nooks and crannies to keep the critters from coming back.
7. Water Leaks
Not only does poor insulation let the chilly temperatures in, but it also lets water in. Insulation does more than protect your home from drafts, it also keeps the water out.
The last thing any homeowner wants is to have to deal with water damage of any kind.
Pay attention to your attic if you’ve started spotting water leaks. Water loves to come through attics that are not properly insulated. If you don’t address these water leaks right away, you might face bigger problems down the road such as mold.
8. Your Pipes Freeze
When the temperatures drop to record lows, almost all homeowners fear one thing, frozen pipes.
If you’ve ever experienced frozen pipes in the winter months, it could be due to the lack of insulation. Making sure there’s enough insulation in your home will prevent the pipes from freezing when the temperatures drop.
The pipes that are most vulnerable to freezing include those located in basements, attics, garages, and crawl spaces.
When the pipes freeze, they run the risk of bursting, which can set a homeowner back thousands of dollars.
Adding the proper insulation the vulnerable areas of the home should help prevent this issue.
9. Ice Dams On the Roof
Another sign your home is not properly insulated is if there are ice dams on the roof. This happens when the heat inside your under-insulated home escapes to the roof and melts the top layer of snow.
The melted snow tends to become ice as it forms a layer on your roof.
10. Increased Allergies
If your home is under-insulated, you might notice certain seasonal allergies might start to flare up.
When your home is properly insulated, it helps trap the air coming from the outside. This means it can also trap allergens. Properly applied spray foam insulation can improve your indoor air quality.
When Do You Need Insulation Replacement?
Insulation replacement is a necessity when your energy bills are high, you notice drafts inside the house, critters start getting in, and you’ve dealt with frozen pipes.
Need help getting those high energy bills down? Contact us today for a quote!
