Assessing Your Insulation: Now Is the Right Time to Do It

Assessing Your Insulation: Now Is the Right Time to Do It

Winter is here, and even the mild climate of Pasadena can serve up some near-freezing temperatures. When it’s cold outside, the heat in your home will naturally try to equalize itself with the cold outdoor air. Insulation slows that heat loss, lowering your overall energy bill. In the summer, the same principles apply, except that it’s outdoor heat attempting to penetrate your home.

That means that the heating and cooling seasons, when your insulation plays its most pivotal role, are also the best times to inspect your thermal envelope and assess whether or not it’s meeting your needs. A home energy audit can help you get a picture of how energy is used (and lost) in your home, and may bring up issues you weren’t aware of or assumed were something homeowners just had to deal with (a certain amount of heat loss or heat gain is inevitable, but excessive levels point to a part of your home energy strategy which isn’t operating as it should.).

To perform a quick, do-it-yourself assessment, look for these signs that you have insufficient insulation (or gaps in it), or places where your home may need to be air-sealed:

• Is there mold, mildew, or musty odors that may indicate outside humidity being carried into your home?
• Can you feel a draft in any of your rooms?
• Are certain areas of your house more resistant to heating and cooling?
• Do you have an attic that becomes stuffy?
• Does your furnace have to remain in constant operation to keep your home warm?
• Do any areas of your home directly abut unheated areas, such as garages?

Heating and cooling costs account for half the money the average homeowner spends on energy, so keeping the expended energy inside your home with proper insulation is key. To learn more, or to speak with a contractor about how you can keep your home comfortable all year long, contact us at Air-Tro Inc.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in the greater Monrovia, California area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).

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