Cold temperatures should be reserved solely for snowball fights, skiing expeditions, and leisurely winter walks, not the inside of your house. No matter the design of your home — if you’re sitting inside and you’re not comfortable, there’s something wrong!
Whether you have a furnace, boiler, or heat pump, if your home heating system is on but isn’t doing its job, you have a problem. But how do you know what could be causing the issue and how to fix it? Today, we’ll take a look at three reasons why you’re too cold in your house, and you should likely be looking for a home energy audit and installation for cellulose, fiberglass or spray foam insulation near you.
1. You Need Better Insulation
Insulation slows the transfer of heat between the materials that make up your home’s building envelope. In the summer, proper insulation keeps hot outdoor temperatures out of your home. In the winter, it works to keep the warm air generated by your heating inside.
If you’re too cold in your house with the furnace running, it’s likely because parts of your home are underinsulated or have old and damaged insulation. Not only does this create home comfort issues, but a large amount of the heat you’re paying for is escaping outside and you’re wasting both heat and money!
A quality insulation contractor near you, like The Fifth Fuel, offers a variety of solutions, from removing your old attic insulation and replacing it to talking you through the different types of insulation and explaining how much it costs to add insulation to your attic and the rest of your home.
2. You Need Air Sealing
Homes can develop small cracks and gaps over the years in the building materials of your home that separate the areas you want to keep comfortable with those you don’t (like an unfinished basement, attic, or crawlspace). These cracks and gaps create air leaks, and can allow lots of air movement in and out of your home, especially as differences in indoor and outdoor temperature increase.
To make matters worse, while most types of insulation are great at slowing heat transfer, their effectiveness can be significantly weakened when exposed to moving air. So not only does air leakage in your home let warm inside air escape outside, but they also weaken your home’s insulation.
Air sealing closes up these cracks and gaps. Air sealing, which is done with spray foam insulation, not only blocks air movement, but it also acts as a moisture barrier as well. A moisture barrier helps prevent conditions that can lead to mold growth and indoor air quality health issues.
3. You Need HVAC Repair
If you’re 100% sure that your insulation and air sealing are doing their job, then it’s time to have your heating and cooling systems inspected by an HVAC technician to see if they need to be repaired or even replaced.
But how many homeowners can be totally confident in eliminating their insulation or air leaks as the cause of their problems? That’s why a home energy audit should be the first step towards solving your home performance issue and making your home more comfortable.
Schedule a Home Energy Audit and Find Whole Home Comfort Today
An energy audit is like a home insulation analysis for your Virginia home, and includes a series of inspections and testing designed to find if and where your home is experiencing heat loss or gain, as well as significant air movement.
Using advanced technology like infrared camera imaging and blower door testing, an energy audit can not only tell you if you could benefit from added insulation and air sealing, but pinpoint exactly where the problem areas are. An audit takes the guesswork out of home improvement upgrades, giving you the most return on your investment in your home.
Then, if it turns out you could use home retrofit work, our team of experts will walk you through the process, including insulation installation costs.
