Many homeowner’s know there are issues with their home’s insulation: constantly running heating or cooling systems, rooms that are hotter or colder than the rest of the house, and other efficiency or comfort problems. But what are the best options for improving home insulation? In this blog, we’ll look at the most common insulation issues, how they can be troubleshooted, and the best solutions in terms of time and money.
Why Improve Home Insulation?
There are two major factors to consider when thinking about home insulation: comfort and efficiency. Home comfort is about controlling the temperature of your home and individual floors and rooms. Home efficiency is about reducing the uptime of your HVAC systems for heating and cooling. Both can be improved by addressing areas of your home that are under-insulated or uninsulated. It’s important to note that both home comfort and efficiency require additional home performance measures to be truly successful, including ventilation and renovation measures.
Diagnosing Temperature Loss at Home
The best way to diagnose where your insulation isn’t sufficient is with a home evaluation and energy audit from a home performance expert. Not only will you discover where your insulation isn’t sufficient, but also other places where temperature, humidity, and stale air are issues. The use of thermal cameras, professional inspections, and other diagnostic tools and experience is invaluable before you start spending money on insulation installation.
Common Underinsulated and Uninsulated Parts of the Home
Instead of redoing existing insulation, you’ll get the best results by getting a home evaluation to identify where you might be underinsulated or have uninsulated parts of your home. Diagnosing and going for these common areas instead of replacing every saves both time and money. Common places include:
- Attics: Unfinished attic spaces are a common area for insulation. The floor, rafters, and door into the space can all be insulated to trap heat.
- Crawlspaces: Both the crawlspaces below and above unheated and uncooled spaces (such as below the ground floor and in ductwork crawlspaces) should be insulated.
- Basements: This can apply to finished or unfinished basements. Basement foundations (especially stone) should also be inspected for cracks and water seepage.
- Garages: Unheated and uncooled garages attached to the home, especially those with floors above, need any shared walls or ceilings/floors to be insulated.
This can be further enhanced by performing air sealing to prevent air conditioning and heating from leaking out of your home. Learn more in our blog, What is Home Air Sealing and Do I Need It in My House?
Insulation Installation Experts in St. Louis
At Greenmark Home Performance, our focus is on making your home in St. Louis more comfortable, efficient, and healthy. It’s why we offer comprehensive home evaluations before we start installing insulation—so you have the best options. We also provide air sealing, ventilation, and remodeling services as part of our whole home approach. Learn more about it and then give us a call at 314-845-9144 or schedule an appointment online.