Winter will be here before you even know it. Winter is your furnace’s time to shine. Unfortunately, many homeowners make the job harder on themselves! There are so many ways homeowners are unintentionally fighting their furnace and increasing their own energy bills. We want to put an end to that and empower our customers to implement good habits that can take their furnaces to the next level this winter. Whether it’s a simple boost in efficiency or a way to help your furnace stay healthy for the long term, we want to help, so here are some of our tips!
Weatherstripping
Weatherstripping should be a part of your routine when winter begins to come around. Weatherstripping covers a variety of different strategies and tools that we use to keep heat in. Remember you want to pay for heat that’s just for your home, yet so many homeowners are paying to heat up the cold winter air. We hate to break it to you, but your furnace won’t do much to change the weather when it’s 40 degrees at night. You’re just throwing your money away.
So to be clear, weatherstripping is a way to combat drafty spots around your home as well as provide an added layer of insulation. Every little bit helps after all! Let’s start with the most well-known and arguably the most essential form of weatherstripping. In this case, we are talking about your front door. Really any outside facing door needs weatherstripping, but I digress. Weatherstripping covers and insulated the bottom portion of the doorframe which can allow a surprising amount of air and energy to pass through. Closing that up should be the first task on your agenda. Depending on how old or well-made your front door is, you may want to add weatherstripping to the surrounding frame as well. Ultimately, it’s up to you, but every little bit helps.
The second form of weatherstripping has to do with your windows. This is another area of your home that is close to the outside air. There are a variety of ways to seal up your windows, but they all require a degree of finesse. Caulking your windows or using weatherstripping tape are both great options. If you want to avoid doing this every winter, installing double-paned windows can naturally insulate your home as well.
Insulation
We’ve already mentioned it a few times, but we want to talk a little more specifically about insulation. Every home should have insulation in their attic or basement, but how often do they check on it? When was the last time you saw your insulation? Was it a month, two months, maybe even longer?
It’s so important to have a good idea of what is going on in your home and this is just one example. We don’t want you to finally go into your attic after winter is over and see that your insulation is water damaged and covered in mold. Not only is that dangerous, but you’ve lost almost all the benefits insulation can provide to your heating. This is exactly why you should inspect your insulation before winter hits in earnest.
While we may not think of it as insulation, the last things we wanted to mention are drapes and rugs. These are small ways to insulate your home for the winter season, while also switching up the look of your home at the same time. Heavy drapes can keep heat in and a rug can prevent heat loss from hardwood or tile flooring especially.
