Almost all homes are built with some type of wall insulation in place to keep it warm in the winter and to help keep it cool in the summer. The problem can be that older homes where not properly insulated, or the insulation that once worked well is no longer in good shape. What you have heard about insulation is true without proper insulation you can pay more for your bills each and every month. You may not have to worry about it too much if you have a newer home, but those with older homes may want to make some adjustments.
You may notice a problem with wall insulation the most in the winter months. If there is a room or a spot in your home that seems to be drafty for no good reason, it could be that there is a void in your wall insulation. You should feel around for where the draft is coming from and then decide what the problem may be. There could be a crack between the wall and the floor or a window that is allowing air to come in. This can add drastically to your heating bills as the winter goes on.
What can also happen in some home with poor wall insulation is a room or part of the house that is colder than the rest and the difference is quite noticeable. You may check and find there are no drafts, and you may also have new windows and have found no source like broken siding outside. If this is the case, your wall insulation could be the culprit. If you bought a home with an extension built on, it could be that those walls were better insulated than the rest of the house, or perhaps it was poorly done. You should most definitely look into it.
What can you do if it appears that you have a wall insulation problem? It depends on the depth of the problem. If you only have a small draft, there are materials that you can use to fill in the space and you should be okay. However, this only works if you truly only have a small problem. This is something you may not be able to tell on your own. You may have to call in a contractor and ask them to help you figure out if you have bigger problems with your wall insulation than you thought.
Getting new wall insulation put in is not as hard or as messy as it use to be. It can be done without tearing down the walls and starting over again in most cases. Look around for a qualified contractor or see if it might be something you can do on your own. This project may even be something you can have done or do on your own in a few days without too much upset to your life but with a lot of savings on heating and cooling in the long run. It's always worth the investment to have a well insulated home.
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