10 Telltale Signs Your Home Needs Retrofitting  

Does your home often get incredibly hot in summer and uncomfortably cold in winter? The Australian climate can change invariably from one day to the next but a home that doesn’t achieve a stable thermal comfort is not normal.

You might need to take a step back to meticulously assess your home’s thermal performance to get to the root of the problem!

Here are ten clear signs that will tell you your home will benefit from an energy and thermal efficiency retrofit.   

1. Inconsistent Indoor Temperatures

Have you ever noticed how the temperature inside your house seems twice as hot as outside despite opening your windows?

For those who own a two-storey house, consider these questions:

• Do you find it hard to sleep at night in your upstairs bedroom due to extreme heat might be a common problem.  
• Do you end up moving your mattress downstairs to somewhere cooler?
• Is achieving a temperature balance between your home’s individual rooms a hard work?

If you answered ‘Yes’ to any of these questions, your home needs a serious home retrofit in the form of an all-home insulation. This includes installing insulation on your ceiling, underfloor, and walls.

You may have had a good insulation installed in the past. But know that the quality and effectiveness of some insulation depreciate over time. Insulations that work effectively help your home retain indoor heating and cooling while preventing draughts and warm air from penetrating your living spaces.

Improving your insulation by replacing it with a superior quality insulation can give a massive boost to your thermal comfort in summer and winter.

2. Constant Use of Air Conditioning

There’s nothing wrong with using air conditioning and fans to drop the temperature in your home to a liveable level of comfort.  

The issue, of course, are the mounting cost of running air con constantly, and how do you cope when there is a power outage?

The problem lies in depending on air conditioning to make your home habitable on a daily basis. Heat build up in your home, despite the presence of air conditioning, is a sure sign your house needs a retrofit.

Retrofitting your home will not only enhance, and maintain the balance of your home’s temperature, but will also prolong the lifespan of your cooling appliances.

3. You Can’t Sleep at Night Because Your Bedroom is Too Hot

Extreme heat during night time has stolen more hours of sleep than insomnia ever has in some Australian households.

If you’re one of the people who can’t sleep in monster heat, we urge you to stop counting sheep and start planning on retrofitting your home tonight.

4. Skyrocketing Energy Bills (much higher than your winter bill)

Mounting energy consumption can be the result of the exhaustive use of power to maintain comfortable temperatures in your home.

If you’re overworking your air conditioning units and space heaters to keep your house toasty in winter and cool in summer, it’s about time to consider retrofitting your home for energy efficiency.

You will save on energy bills EVERY month after a quality retrofit of your home. Your energy bills will be significantly lower, your home will be comfortable (possibly for the first time?) and you will be well on your way to future-proofing your home.

5. Your Windows are a Major Contributor of Heat to Your Home – despite having window covers

Windows are your home’s natural sources of light. However, they can also be the source of extreme heat and cold air into your home.  

To minimise this, homeowners would commonly use window covers, drapes, blinds, or shades to manage heat transfer in summer and winter. However, these are only temporary fixes that create little impact in upgrading your thermal comfort and reducing your energy spend.

Since glass is a heavy conductor of heat, it’s inevitable for all types of glass windows to transfer heat in and out of your home. And the rate of heat transmission rises as the temperature difference inside and outside your home widens. So placing curtains, covers, or drapes doesn’t really address the problem from the root.

If you’re experiencing massive heat transfer through your windows, the most cost-effective way to resolve this problem is by double glazing your windows. Installing a secondary glazing (or retrofit double glazing) reduces the rate of heat transfer through your windows by up to 50 percent.

6. The Western Part of your Home Gets Extremely Hot in the Afternoons

For any house that faces west, the reality is that it will become VERY hot in the harsh afternoon summer sun.

Homeowners who encounter this problem would know how it can become increasingly uncomfortable as the summer season progresses. It’s because even top-notch window covers could not manage the excessive penetration of sunlight.

Unless you consider moving to a more temperate region, or at least a home that is not western facing, exploring a variety of home retrofit solutions stands as the most cost-effective option to address this problem.

7. Indoor Walls Feel Warm, or Even Hot, to the Touch

Another thing that’s impeding your attempts at a comfortable home is the pent-up heat that’s trapped in the walls (bricks or weatherboard walls) in your home.

To tell if your walls are trapping heat inside, try running your palms across a section of your walls in the afternoon. This heat can linger in your walls for long periods and can become the cause of your nighttime discomforts!

The best way to resolve this problem is by insulating your walls.

8. Hot Breeze is Radiating in Different Parts of the House

Do you have a concrete paving right outside your door that often gets exposed to the sun? If so, you may also feel heat rising from this surface, usually during the afternoon.  

Because of its thermal properties, concrete absorbs heat throughout the day which explains why you can feel heat emanating from this part of your home despite having installed shadings on your windows or door.

There are a myriad of solutions to reduce the heat absorption and bounce effect of heat into your home. One solution is to plant shade trees in various locations around your home to prevent the sunlight from streaming directly in your windows, walls, and roofs.

You can also install reflective rolls like Renshade on your windows which helps in reflecting the sunlight and heat away from your windows.

9. Insects and Rodents Manage to Get Inside Your Home

The presence of insects and/or rodents in your home is a tell-tale sign that your house has serious gaps and professional draught proofing is required. If you are a DIYers, check out www.ecoMasterStore.com.au.

10. Rays of Sunlight Seep Through The Corners of Your Doors and Windows

Take note that if you can see streaks of sunlight around your doors and windows it is a clear sign of unwanted gaps in your house screaming for draught proofing solutions. There is a wide range of affordable and high quality draught proofing solutions applicable for all areas of your home that are penetrable by draughts, heat, sunlight, and even outside noise.

So, how do I fix it?

If you have ticked off any or possibly all of the items on this list, know that you don’t have to put up with this any longer.

If you’re serious about improving the thermal performance of your home and investing in your family’s comfort while making important energy savings in the process, start your journey with an ecoHome energy efficiency retrofit plan.

By taking a targeted approach to improving the energy efficiency of your home, you can permanently reduce your energy consumption – making your home cooler in summer, warmer in winter, and significantly cutting your energy bills.

Our team of experts will deliver tailored recommendations specifically for your home in a prioritised step-by-step plan that ensures your investment delivers the best possible outcome.

If you’re looking for high-quality draught proofing solutions and insulation, contact ecoMaster, the experts in energy efficiency! Call 1300 326 627 for inquiries and orders.