Five Simple Ways to Improve Your Insulation During Winter

Does your home’s energy bill jump through the roof during the cold winter months? If so, chances are your home’s insulation needs upgrading. In fact, improving your home’s insulation is an effective way to reduce your energy bills in both winter and summer. There are five easy ways to improve your home’s insulation.

1. Add insulation to your attic. A poorly insulated attic offers a large surface area for heat loss to occur during winter. If you can clearly see the attic floor joists, you probably need more insulation. You can use fiberglass batts or loose-fill insulation, depending on your preference.
2. Add insulation to your walls. If you live in an old or poorly insulated house, the insulation in your walls may need upgrading. Foam board insulation is ideal for unfinished walls and is easy to install. Do not forget the walls in your garage – these are often left without insulation. However, if the garage isn’t being heated, insulation may not be a good idea, since it will get damp without regular heating and ventilation.
3. Insulate your basement and crawl spaces. Besides the attic and the walls, the area under your home also needs to be insulated to prevent heat loss. However, the basements and crawl spaces are often overlooked, even though these are prime spots for heat loss.
4. Insulate your pipes. Don’t forget to insulate your open pipes that run close to the outside walls and are at risk of freezing, as frozen pipes may burst and create a plumbing disaster. Add insulation sleeves or wrap your pipes with insulation to prevent them from freezing. Pipes leading from the water heater should be insulated as well.
5. Insulate your water heater. Leaving your hot water storage tank uninsulated can add considerably to your energy bills. Wrap an insulation blanket around the tank to reduce heat loss and decrease your operating cost by up to 10 percent. Most newer storage water heaters come pre-insulated.

For more expert advice on home insulation, please contact Sobieski Services, Inc. We aim to educate our customers in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC & plumbing systems).

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