Tips for Winterizing Your Home
Whether you’re excited about the coming cooler days or already pining for summer, there’s no way to stop the seasons – Winter is coming. Kick back and binge Game of Thrones once the air gets cold, but stay ahead of the weather by winterizing your home with these strategies.
Get Ahead of the Season
When your HVAC system is fighting drafts, poor insulation, and inconsistent temps in the home, it’s working overtime – and that can shorten the lifespan of even the best units. Prevent your HVAC from working too hard while saving you money on energy bills by getting ahead of the season. Here’s how:
Replace Storm Doors and Windows. It may seem like a chore, but pulling the storm doors and windows out of the garage and replacing them will make a huge difference in your home’s ability to conserve energy. If you haven’t invested in these crucial elements, this is the year. While you’re there, caulk or replace worn weather stripping in these areas; it’s an easy fix and can save you some coin in energy loss.
Consider a Smart Thermostat. From smart devices to smart cities, technology is not just making our lives easier; it’s conserving energy worldwide – and your home can benefit, too. With smart thermostats, property owners can remotely control the temperatures of their homes – wherever they are – to conserve energy. You can also set them to turn the temperature up during the morning, and down during the evening, without having to rely on whether you need another layer of clothes.
Insulate the Pipes. Insulating your pipes is a fairly easy process. Find pre-slit foam (invest in insulation with the highest R-value) and duct tape at a local hardware store. Prioritize covering pipes that are warm to the touch. Doing so will mean paying less for hot water, saving energy, and less chance of pipes bursting. If your home or property will be vacant, consider winterizing and draining your system to prevent burst pipes during hard freezes. Remember, you don’t have to be in a frigid climate to suffer burst pipes.
These are some of the early steps to protecting your home against winter’s worst, but here are some smaller ways to ensure your home is winter-ready:
- Schedule a professional HVAC inspection.
- Switch ceiling fan to clockwise to increase warm air flow.
- Change or clean HVAC filters.
- Add insulation to attics and other areas.
- Cover drafty windows and doors.
These small steps can mean big savings in your home.
Stay Cozy and Save Energy This Winter
Having a professional inspect your system and offer further advice is smart and can prevent problems cropping up at inconvenient times – a burst pipe during the winter months can damage your home and add a big red line to your budget. Worse? If your system fails during the holidays, your mother-in-law will never let you forget it. Check off these boxes and add a call to an HVAC professional on your autumn to-do list. Today is a great day to winterize your home ahead of the coming cold.
