Why Is My House Still Cold, Even With the Heat On?
We recently came across a note from a homeowner with a forced hot air system who was having trouble keeping his home warm. While his thermostat was cranked up to 79 degrees day after day and the system was working properly, he and his family still had to wear sweaters indoors to keep warm and feel comfortable in the house. What gives!
The truth is, this is a pretty common complaint in colder climates. Even with a state-of-the-art heating system pumping hot air throughout your home, there are a number of other factors that can derail whether the home stays warm as it should.
Easily the number one culprit? Air infiltration.
Whether leaking from fireplaces and windows, seeping up through the floor, or falling out of vents, cold air infiltration can cause a wind chill effect, creating a draft in an otherwise temperate house and counteracting all the hard work your heating system is doing. What a waste!
Fortunately, there's a simple solution: seal up the gaps.
Sealing Air Leaks
Air sealing and insulation work together to stop unwanted airflow and increase the overall efficiency of heating and cooling systems. Because air leakage accounts for a large portion of a home's energy inefficiency, Ward Insulation makes it a top priority to identify any spots in the home where unconditioned air might be infiltrating a structure.
Here are a few of the places our technicians will inspect first:
Around chimneys where they exit insulated ceilings or walls
Near fireplace dampers
Around attic access hatches
In dropped ceilings, particularly above cabinets or bathtubs
Around electrical plates and outlets
Along baseboard, wall and door moldings
In any area where wire comes through walls, ceilings or floors
Around air vents and registers
From there, it's a matter of putting product in the right places to seal off spots where cold air is making its way in.
Call the Experts
Ward Insulation has been helping families in Colorado and Wyoming make sustainable improvements to their homes and businesses since 2008. From day one, our desire has been to provide the highest level of hometown service to our customers, while also leading our industry in areas of sustainability and technical innovation.
