5 Signs Your Home Needs New Insulation

Good insulation makes a major difference to your home’s energy efficiency.

But how do you know if you need to replace your insulation?

Do you have an HVAC pro you can trust?

Not everyone does.

So take a look at these telling signs that indicate your home needs new insulation:

1. Changing Indoor Temperatures

When you walk around your home, do you notice differences in temperature?

Each room in your home should be around the temperature you have set on your thermostat.

If you feel obvious temperature differences as you move about your house, that’s an almost guaranteed sign you need updated insulation (and perhaps air sealing too).

2. Higher Energy Bills

This one can be somewhat difficult to discern. High energy bills can have many different causes.

Someone in your home could simply be using more energy than usual. You might have an air sealing problem.

Or, prices simply could have increased quite a bit. Texas, for example, saw natural gas production recently slip by about 25%.

And natural gas helps produce much of the electricity Texas uses.

Lower supply with the same or greater demand means higher prices.

Nonetheless, higher energy bills can be a strong indicator your insulation needs updating.

You just might have to do a little homework to find the true source of the problem.

3. You Have Pest Control Problems

Rodents love to nibble away at your home’s insulation. It seems like their favorite pastime.

Mice, squirrels, racoons, possums, and bats all have great natural skill at chewing up your insulation.

If you have any present, you likely have damaged insulation somewhere in your home.

Once you get your pest problem under control, inspect your insulation to see if you can find any missing.

4. You Can Feel Drafts

You should never be able to feel air moving around your home.

Well, technically, the only air you should ever feel moving around your home should come from a floor or ceiling fan.

If you feel any other kind of draft, that’s a sure-fire sign your insulation has problems.

5. You Can Easily Hear Outside Noise

Insulation isn’t soundproof.

But it does act as a buffer between you and the sound you hear from the outside world.

Regular noise from the outside world shouldn’t be loud enough to bother you.

So if you can’t sleep or if you find yourself constantly bothered by outdoor noise, you might need better insulation.

Ultimately, only you can make the decision to add new insulation to your home.

Consider these factors along with the advice of a few HVAC pros, and then install new insulation if and when it makes sense.