Someone joked with one of our staff the other day by asking, “Do you know how many shopping days it is until Christmas?” While somewhat amused at the question, it got us thinking – winter is not that far off! (By the way – the answer is just 130 days from today, 8/17!).
With winter approaching quickly, this is a good time to determine if your house is properly insulated. And if it is not – this is one of the best times of the year to get work done to properly insulate your home. One of the worst times? In late fall or winter, because every other homeowner is trying to do the same (well, almost every other one).
With this in mind, here is a list of key indicators to determine if your house is properly insulated:
- Higher than Normal Heating Bills
Take a close look at your heating bills over the past few years. Are they steadily going up, beyond the normal rate of inflation? Steadily increasing heating bills are typically indicative of a home whose insulation is settling or become less effective. If you can, compare your heating bills with those of your neighbors with similar home sizes. They won’t be exactly the same, but should be reasonably similar. - Cold Rooms and Fluctuating Temperature
If your home has ‘cold rooms’ or significant fluctuations in temperature from room to room, this is an indicator of a home that has insulation that is not evenly spread throughout the entire house. These rooms tend to absorb a lot of heat in the house and they feel like they are radiating cold from the floor and walls. - Drafts or Drafty Rooms
Rooms in which you can feel drafts are typically inadequately insulated – allowing the wind or air to move through the room when instead it should be sealed out by the insulation and walls. - Ice Dams on Your Roof
During the winter, do ice dams form on your roof – especially in corners over the home itself (not just the garage)? If so, this is typically due to a lack of insulation. They form when heat rising out of your poorly insulated roof melts the snow on the roof, which then trickles down to the edge of the roof, which then freezes again over your gutters.
There are other indicators of an inadequately insulated home (or parts of a home) that we can discuss with you. Just give us a call or request an appointment online!
Plumbwell Services provides both residential and commercial heating services. We install complete heating systems including heat pumps, baseboard and radiant heating, as well as providing furnace repair, maintenance, and installation. We also install, maintain, and repair boilers, as well as replace and repair hot water heaters, including tankless water heaters.