According to ENERGY STAR, as many as 90% of American homes are under-insulated, including homes in the Greater Rockford area and Northern Illinois. One of the most commonly under-insulated areas is the attic.
But before you go ahead and insulate or reinsulate your attic, you should talk to a professional to make sure your attic is the real culprit in your home’s energy inefficiency. In the meantime, there are some definite signs that your attic very likely has no insulation, is poorly insulated or has old insulation that needs removal and updating.
ARE THESE SIGNS FAMILIAR TO YOU?
If you’ve noticed any or all of these signs, you should consider scheduling an energy audit, which will probably indicate that your attic insulation needs to be upgraded.
1. HIGH ENERGY BILLS
If your furnace runs constantly but you still don’t feel quite warm enough, your house is leaking heat and wasting your energy dollars. Your home may benefit from overall air sealing (your energy audit will tell you if this is the case) and additional insulation.
2. DRAFTS & UNEVEN HEATING OR COOLING THROUGHOUT YOUR HOUSE
Have you ever heard of the stack effect? That’s what happens when air rushes into your lower floors through gaps in your house to replace the warm air and heat rising and escaping through your under-insulated and leaky attic. The colder it is, the more quickly this phenomenon occurs, causing the biggest drafts on the coldest days.
3. BARE SPOTS ON YOUR ROOF
Heat continues to unless it’s stopped by an adequate thermal barrier. This is the job of your insulation, but if your attic is not well insulated, it warms up and warms your roof. The bare spots on your roof represent a warm roof that melts snow and leaves bare patches, a sure sign of a poorly insulated attic.
4. ICICLES AND ICE DAMS
Icicles hanging down from your gutters indicate ice dams, which can cause serious problems if not remedied. Ice dams can be removed, but removing ice dams is not a solution as they will form again unless the root cause is addressed. It’s best to prevent ice dams from ever forming, and the best way to do that is to insulate your attic.
THE FIRST STEP TOWARD GREATER HOME COMFORT
A more comfortable home and improved home performance begin with a home energy audit from Greenlink Energy Solutions. We’ll do a visual inspection of your entire home, inside and out, and use modern building science techniques, including a blower door test and infrared camera imaging, to determine just where your home is wasting energy.
After your audit, we’ll provide recommendations for the most effective solutions to stop the waste. Attic insulation and air sealing often top the list of necessary improvements. The result: a more comfortable home all year long, significantly lower energy bills and a reduced environmental impact.
No matter what the findings of our energy audit are, the professionals at Greenlink can help with a wide range of solutions and expertise to ensure your investments provide the energy savings you need.
Make sure your attic is helping the performance of your home, not hurting or bringing it down. Contact us today to schedule a home energy audit today!
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