By Barry Stone
Dear Barry,
I've got an older home that I believe has little or no insulation in the walls. The house gets incredibly hot in the summer and cold in the winter. How do I determine if lack of insulation is the cause, and if so, what can be done about it? --Sue
Dear Sue,
It is often possible to check for wall insulation by removing the cover plates from electric outlets and shining a flashlight into the crack between the outlet box and the wall board. If the exterior walls are not insulated, there are companies that inject insulation into the wall cavities of older homes. Holes will be drilled in the walls to enable injection, and this may leave some apparent patching, but the energy savings should be appreciable.
For additional energy conservation, insulation should also be added to the attic. And if your budget permits, changing to dual pane windows also makes a significant improvement.
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