10 Telltale Signs Of Poor Insulation In A House

With 19% of residential buildings in Ireland being built before 1945 and a further 14% being built between 1946 and 1969, which is before the first thermal standards were introduced. This means that there are hundreds of thousands of poorly insulated homes across the country, and that’s not including homes built after 1970 that benefited from these initial thermal standards but not subsequent innovations.

The good news is that it’s almost always possible to improve poor insulation in a house but it’s hard to correct any problem without identifying it first. With that in mind here are 10 tell-tale signs of poor insulation in a house. Some are general symptoms of poor insulation but others point to specific issues that indicate what needs to be addressed and where.

High Energy Bills: Let’s start with the most topical. Poor insulation leads to energy loss, which means your central heating has to work harder to maintain a comfortable temperature. This inevitably results in higher energy bills.

Uneven Temperatures: One of the more irritating signs of poor insulation in a house, the causes of uneven temperatures in the home range from restricted airflow, poorly sealed extractor fans, old windows, and many more.

Draughts: If you’re sitting in your lounge and feel a draught then there’s no doubt about it, your house is poorly insulated. The first place to look is always the front door, as door letter boxes can be an easy-in for even the most gentle breeze. Chimneys should also be considered prime suspects.

Condensation: You may not come across this one often but if you notice condensation on your windows, it’s a sign that warm, moist air is leaking into your home and condensing on the cold glass. It may not seem like a problem there and then but you’ll want to address it come winter.

Ice Dams: Speaking of Winter, if your home gets ice dams on the roof then you’ve got an insulation issue. Ice dams form when warm air escapes from your loft and melts snow on your roof. The water then refreezes at the eaves, creating ice dams.

Mold & Mildew: Encouraged by condensation and moisture buildup, the presence of mould and mildew are clear signs of poor insulation in a house. While mould is undoubtedly worse than mildew, neither one is great and both can be harmful after prolonged periods of exposure.

Pest Problems: More of a red flag than flashing headlights and sirens, the presence of pests like mice or insects in your home could be a sign of poor insulation. Small animals can enter houses through gaps in your insulation and while there are other means of ingress, you will at least want to rule this one out.

Noisy House: Sounds travel easily around poorly insulated houses so if you home is remarkably noisy then you should be able to solve two problems at once by investing in some insulation.

Hot Lofts: In many cases, the loft is the easiest part of the house to insulate and that’s why you’ll find even the most poorly insulated homes tend to have something like sheep wool loft insulation at the very least. Because of this, however, you may find your loft is much hotter than the rest of your home and that’s a sure sign of poor insulation in a house (or at least most of the house).

Creeping Sunlight: Curtains and blinds can contribute to a home’s insulation, especially if you have thermal insulated curtains or curtains with bonded cotton lining. If you have either of these, chances are you don’t have them by mistake and so you may be frustrated to learn that if sunlight is able to creep in through gaps in drawn curtains so too can cool air against your window. As a matter of fact, research suggests that closing your curtains properly can reduce heat loss by 15 to 17% and this can go up to 25% with thermal curtains.

If one or more of these signs of poor insulation seem familiar to you, you might want to consider looking into how you can improve things. It’s an investment, but one that will pay dividend right away both in terms of comfort and saving. What’s more, once your home meets certain insulation standards, you will be able to build on what you’ve already done to improve things further. For instance, the better insulated your home, the more effective an air-to-water heat pump would be, allowing you to make your home even more efficient and sustainable. If that’s not enough, you will also spend less on heating so win/win.

For more information on insulating your home and how investing now can save you money going forward, why not get in touch?