With winter well and truly here, have you noticed that your home becomes unusually cold overnight, giving you an unpleasantly brisk early morning?
If that sounds familiar, you may need to improve the quality of insulation in your home.
Compared with properties in Europe, houses and apartments in our part of the world are notorious for poor insulation.
In cooler locations, insulation is all about keeping in the heat.
But here in summer, it’s just as essential to ensure the cool air stays inside when spending big money on air conditioning.
Below, we’ve listed eight signs indicating you may have an insulation challenge.
Echos
An echo or reverberation of noise is a quick signal that a home or room lacks insulation. To do a test, stand in the middle of a room and speak normally: if it sounds hollow then there’s a good chance there’s no insulation.
Noisy
Similar to echoing, if noise travels easily through a home, there may be insufficient insulation. Properly insulated walls, floors and ceilings dampen noise.
Big bills
If you feel you’re spending too much on your energy needs, poor insulation is likely at the heart of the issue. Call your energy company and ask whether your bills are unduly high compared with similar properties.
Constantly sick
Most of us get a cold or flu during winter, but if you or your family seem frequently ill, there could be a problem. Constant damp air is not good for the lungs, and mould issues can bring bigger problems.
Freezing feet
Cold floors are a giveaway. There are numerous commercial products that will allow you to insulate your floors, so long as you get underneath the house or unit. Some ceramic and stone tiles will naturally feel cold, of course.
On the nose
A lack of insulation may result in damp or mould. If the home has a musty, cigar-like smell, you may have an issue.
Condensation
If your windows and walls have condensation, your home will not be adequately insulated. The problem occurs when there is a significant difference in the temperatures inside and outside the home.
Roof challenge
It’s a surprising fact that you can have too much insulation in the roof. Air needs to flow through a home, and if the insulation in the roof has trapped the air below it, you can get problems.