Guide to Insulating Your Home More Effectively

Your home's insulation has a big effect on how comfortable your home is at times of year when temperatures are very cold and very hot. If your home's insulation is not effective enough, you could be forced to run your air conditioner heater much more than would otherwise be necessary. This contributes to wear and tear on your HVAC system, inflates your utility bills and could even cause your HVAC system to fail early. A well insulated home is also a great selling point when you go to sell your home. Here's what you need to know about poor insulation and how you can improve it.

Know the Signs of Poor Insulation

Homes that have poor insulation show this problem in many ways.

• Hot and cold spots in the house. The house will heat up with the sun, so that portions of the house are cooler than others.
• High energy bills. Often, energy bills in a house with poor insulation will be high compared to other homes in the same community.
• Cold floors, walls. In winter, the walls of the home will feel cold even when the house has been heated to a comfortable temperature.
• Frozen pipes. In areas of the country where the temperatures get very cold in winter, pipes in the outer walls of the home may freeze.

Building codes now mandate that homes have proper insulation, but in older homes, the insulation is often below modern standards. Homeowners with older homes are more likely to face this problem than homeowners living in new construction homes.

Insulate Your Attic

The easiest way for a homeowner to beef up their home's insulation is to install insulation in the attic. Insulation should come up over the joists in the floor. If the insulation does not, then the home is under insulated. Insulation is sold in fiberglass batts that can be unrolled over the joists to help prevent warm air from the rest of the home from rising into the attic.

Weatherstrip Your Home

Weatherstripping is an easy way to keep a home comfortable without opening up the walls to install better insulation. Weatherstripping is sold at hardware stores and home improvement centers. Often when installing weatherstripping, homeowners focus on the doors and windows of their home. This is important if they've noticed that the area near the doors and windows are colder or draftier than the rest of to the house.

Weatherstripping can safely be installed by a homeowner. When purchasing weatherstripping, it's important for the homeowner to know that cheap weatherstripping often doesn't last for more than a single season. Homeowners who want their weatherstripping to last for years may need to install a quality product and may have to spend a little more money on the project.

Work With an Expert

If you're thinking about re-insulating your Reunion new home, the best thing you can do is work with an experienced contractor. Insulating the walls and attic may look easy, but improper insulation techniques could lead to moisture problems and mold. Work with an expert to ensure that your home has the ability to "breathe" properly once the insulation is installed.

Once insulation has been properly installed in your home, your utility bills will go down and your home's value may even go up. For more information about how you can improve your home's value, work with a real estate professional. Your real estate agent can help you make your home attractive to buyers, if you're thinking about selling.