How Do You Winterize Your Home?
Some basic ways to winterize your home include installing the storm windows, sealing your windows with plastic and changing your furnace filter. Completing these tasks and others before winter hits helps you save money on energy bills and future maintenance.
Wrap outdoor and basement pipes with heating tape to insulate and protect them from freezing and breaking. Insulating the warm water pipes in your basement also helps conserve warm water and energy.
Yearly furnace tune-ups are recommended, and autumn provides a great time to schedule furnace servicing. A clean, freshly-lubricated furnace with a new filter works more efficiently during the heating season and saves energy. An autumn tune-up also provides a great opportunity to detect and prevent malfunctions that would require costly emergency service during the winter months.
Other heat-saving measures include adding weatherstripping to doors and other entrances and caulking windows. Examine your air and heating ducts to ensure they are properly insulated, and add insulation if needed. Before you turn on the heat, make sure that furniture and other objects do not block the vents or radiator. Also, remember to reverse the direction of ceiling fans in the home. Running a ceiling fan on the clockwise setting pushes the warm air that naturally rises back down to the living area.
