The temperatures are slowly starting to rise in the Greater Rochester area and spring is right around the corner with some reprieve from the frigid cold. Did you notice that your home was exceptionally uncomfortable or expensive to heat this winter? While several factors can impact your home’s performance, these symptoms can provide some insight into the source of the issues.
At Wise Home Energy, we’re building scientists who take the guesswork out of solving numerous issues in a home. We’ve been helping homeowners in Monroe County and beyond find reliable and long-lasting home upgrades, including insulation, air sealing, HVAC services, and more. If you’re having problems with your home, our team can help!
Common Winter Home Issues & How to Fix Them
The most accurate way to determine what’s causing the issues in your home is with an in-depth analysis with an experienced professional, like a Wise Home Assessment. However, the issues you’re experiencing can help you understand the problem and find a trustworthy contractor to improve your home’s energy efficiency, comfort, and indoor health.
Ice Dams
When heat escapes from your attic and melts the snow built up on your roof, the water will run off and refreeze around your gutters. This leads to ice dams and can result in a compromised home structure, water leaks, or even permanent damage to your roof.
Solution: Attic Insulation
By reducing the amount of heat that escapes from the top of your home, attic insulation is one of the most effective methods for preventing ice dams, along with many other home comfort issues. We recommend combining attic insulation upgrades with air sealing for maximum protection.
Cold Walls & Floors
No one wants to wake up on a winter morning and step right onto an icy floor! Many homes in the Rochester area are left exposed to the elements and without proper insulation—or in some cases, no insulation at all.
Solution: Insulation Upgrades
During an assessment of your home, our team can accurately pinpoint areas of inadequate insulation using specialized tools, like infrared cameras. We’ll make recommendations on where your home could benefit from insulation upgrades, like your exterior walls or crawl space.
Indoor Drafts
Drafty rooms are especially common in older homes, but they can occur in homes of all shapes and sizes. Many homeowners think that old windows or HVAC systems are the cause of indoor drafts, but significant air leaks in your home are the more likely culprit.
Solution: Air Sealing
By sealing off gaps and cracks in your home, air sealing is an effective solution for indoor drafts. In addition to solving comfort issues, air sealing will also help improve your home’s indoor air quality, prevent pests from entering, and even help strengthen its structure.
High Heating Costs
Several things can cause an increase in your energy bills, from poor insulation to an aging furnace. This is why it’s best to work with a knowledgeable and experienced team that can find the exact source of the issue, not quick fix-its based on guesswork.
Solution: Insulation or HVAC Upgrades
Once we determine why your heating costs are going up, we can provide a customized plan of action that involves comprehensive insulation upgrades or an HVAC replacement.
Poor HVAC Performance
Did your heating system struggle to keep up with your needs over the winter? This is a tell-tale sign of an aging or improperly sized HVAC system that’s on its way toward a breakdown. If you heating system is over a decade old or has had recurring problems over the past few years, it may be time for a replacement.
Solution: HVAC Repair or Replacement
Wise Home Energy always ensures properly sized and correctly installed HVAC equipment that will meet your home’s specific needs. We only work with industry leading brands, like Daikin and Mitsubishi Electric. We specialize in installing all types of heating & cooling systems, including all-electric heat pumps and mini splits.
Find a Reliable Solution with Wise Home Energy
We’ve been in the home performance industry since 2010, helping our community improve their homes with our comprehensive insulation, HVAC, and indoor air quality services. In addition to our high-quality work, we can also help you navigate through the rebates and incentives available to homeowners in the Greater Rochester area to help lower the cost of your home upgrades. Our team is highly-trained and ready to help with these issues or any others you may be experiencing in your home!