3 Common pitfalls of home insulation

Home insulation is something that everyone is more aware about in the past few years. The truth is that we can save a lot of money on a monthly basis if we take care of the insulation in our homes. This is especially true for people who happen to live in environments where it gets very hot in the summer and/or very cold in the winter. Insulation is what stops the heat from going outside of your house in the winter, and what keeps the cold air inside during the summer months.

For those who are using their central heating and air system throughout the year, a poorly insulated home will result in spending more money on electricity and/or gas bills every single month. In contrast, a properly insulated home will reach and maintain the same temperatures all year and use a lot less energy to achieve this result. It may cost a little more up front to improve a home’s insulation, but it can save hundreds of dollars in the long run.

Here is a look at three common pitfalls of home insulation.

This is rather surprising to a lot of people, but older homes have a definite problem when it comes to their outlets. These outlets and light switches are common spots where heat loss takes place. You might think that you are not going to lose that much heat through a tiny outlet, but if you think about how many outlets are in your entire home, this amount of heat loss can add up fairly quickly.

The fact of the matter is that a high percentage of the air that comes in and out of a home goes through doors and windows. If you have the heat on but it is very cold outside, most of the cold air coming into your home is arriving through the windows and doors that are not properly insulated. Homes with large windows also have a problem with heat getting into rooms during the summer months. One way to counter-act this problem is with heat reflective fabric. Here is a look at some applications for heat reflective fabric.

Aside from using reflective fabric to keep the hot air out in the summer, it is also a good idea to get weather-stripping done on the windows and doors. This should be completed every few years, because weather-stripping does wear off after a period of time. If you have a larger budget for insulation projects, getting newer windows may also be an option. Windows produced in the past couple of years are a lot more energy efficient than older windows.

Homes where there is an attic will have problems because these areas are often the worst in terms of their insulation. There is also a tendency for some attics to get too much insulation, while dampness is also a concern in some months. Attics often result in drafts that can spread throughout the house, which is easily fixed by adding weather-stripping or insulation panels to certain spots in the home.