As winter approaches, follow these four tips to ensure that your home remains comfortable and warm. Of course, the most important part is having a reliable heating system. It keeps you warm and cozy during those long, cold winter months.
Your winter preparation must include regular furnace maintenance and regular furnace repairs. Neglecting your heating system can lead to unexpected breakdowns and the need for emergency furnace services, which can be a hassle when it’s so cold outside. Keeping up with routine maintenance can prevent these stressful situations and save you money in the long run by reducing furnace repair costs.
When seeking assistance from professional furnace fixers, don’t be surprised to have to pay an HVAC diagnostic fee. This is typically charged for the technician’s time spent assessing what is broken and needs to be fixed on your system. It allows the technician to accurately determine the specific parts and labor required for the repair, ensuring an efficient and effective fix.
In this article, you will find four essential tips to help keep your home cozy this winter. We cover everything from early maintenance to when it’s time to call the experts. With the right preparation, you can enjoy a warm and inviting home even when the thermometer drops below zero outside!
The transition between fall and winter brings cooler weather and chillier winds. Before the crisp weather of the fall transitions into the freezer temperatures of the winter, ensure that you are prepared. You will use your house as a retreat from the cold weather. You will expect your house to warm you, as you head indoors after shoveling a snowy driveway. Ensuring that you will have warmth all year long requires some preparations.
Pull out all of your winter clothing and home accessories
If you live in a four season state, you probably put winter items into storage during the spring and summer months. The fall is a great time to go through these items and pull them back out. You can replace your spring and summer home accessories with these items. Pull out all of your warm blankets, heavy boots, and sweatshirts. You will appreciate how easy they are to find on that first cold and snowy day. You will also appreciate the warm blanket you can grab in the middle of the night.
Inspect your HVAC system
Your HVAC system will do a lot of work over the long, winter months. If you have yet to turn on your heat, now is a good time to do it. The weather is not yet cold enough that you need it, so you still have time to schedule repairs. If you do not keep up with the inspection and preventative maintenance of your HVAC system, it can result in reduced efficiency and increased utility bills. You could even be left without any heat on an especially freezing day.
Inspect your doors
Opening and closing a door can significantly change the temperature in your house. If there are cracks or leaks in the door, it can permanently prevent your house from getting warm enough. Fortunately, losing heat from the house via a door is a relatively easy fix. Simply purchase insulated door stoppers. Place these below the exterior doors of your house. It will keep the warm air in and the cold air out. It will also help your energy efficiency, allowing you to heat your house to a comfortable temperature, as an affordable cost.
Inspect and replace windows, when needed
You can also lose heat through your windows. The only difference between doors and windows is that you usually have many more windows than doors, in your house. Replacement windows on even a couple of cracked or unsealed home windows can significantly improve the comfort of your house. Go through each one of your windows and check for damage. The damage might not always be visible. However, you can identify leaks by fog or smeared spots between the windows. This usually means that heat is escaping, cold air is getting in, or in many cases, both.
It is also possible that your residential windows are outdated and despite having no damages, they are the most effective at keeping heat inside. The best windows today are drastically different from what was considered the best windows many years ago. Dual paned windows, for example, are about two times as effective at retaining heat and air conditions compared to single paned ones. Because replacement windows can cost between $300 and $700 per window, you can purchase replacement windows in groups. First, place the ones in the front of the house and then, move to the back of the house. Don?t forget to factor in the cost savings from lowered utility bills. Windows that are draft and let air escape can increase your utility bills by 10 to 25%. Replacement windows can actually save you money.
Preparing your house now for the cold winter can ensure that you are warm and toasty all winter long. Prevent being left out in the cold with a broken HVAC unit or poorly efficient windows and doors that do not keep the cold out. Bring out all of your warm clothing and blankets and if possible, order replacement windows. You will notice a decrease in your utility bills and you will be warm all winter.