5 Ways to Prepare Your Home for Winter
Monday, September 26th, 2016 by Joy Padgett
Although it is still September, in Kentucky that sometimes means it’s still hot. However, cooler days are fast approaching and with them the perfect time of year to think about home comfort. With much cooler days coming….not to mention down-right COLD days coming, ask yourself if your home was uncomfortable last winter. If the answer is yes, then now is the time to prepare your house for an increased level of comfort .
1. Create Safe Walkways
Daylight savings is almost here which means most of us will be coming home from work in the dark. Now is the time to make sure your walkway is well lit. We don’t want anyone falling while carrying groceries into the house! Using ENERGY STAR light bulbs, especially CFL’s is a great way to be safe and save energy.
2. It’s Never Too Late to Insulate
Insulation plays an important part in making your home more comfortable and, as an added bonus, make your house more energy efficient. When temperatures begin to drop and furnaces are being turned on, heat within the living spaces of your home will begin to move to adjacent unheated areas like attics, garages, basements, and even outside! Heat can also move in a more indirect manner, through interior ceilings, walls and floors. Where there is a difference in temperature, there will be heat transfer. Insulation help to reduce much of that heat transfer and keeps your furnace from having to work so hard.
3. Keep Your Warm Air In
It is extremely important for your comfort and your energy savings to keep your warm air inside your home when it is cold outside. Warm air will escape through any and every crack it can find. Air sealing as many of these cracks as possible will keep your warm air in and the cold air out in winter months. There are several different ways you can air seal using caulk and spray foam. Gaps around doors and windows, penetrations under sinks and at washing machine boxes, and electrical penetrations should all be sealed up.
4. Get Your Ducts in a Row
I know, I know…who even thinks about ducts? They are largely unseen and you know what they say…Out of sight, out of mind. What we sometimes fail to remember is that leaky ductwork means a more uncomfortable home. The warm air we can paying for is escaping right out of the ductwork….maybe into our attic or crawlspace. I don’t know about you, but I don’t live in my attic or my crawlspace, so why would I want to heat those areas? A properly sealed and insulated duct system results in a more comfortable home, adds longevity to your furnace because it doesn’t have to work as long or as hard, and can help reduce your utility bills.
5. Get a Home Comfort Evaluation
Before the weather turns cold in Central Kentucky, call us to complete a Home Comfort Evaluation for you. Our specially trained technicians will come to your home and speak with you about the issues you are having with your home then conduct a thorough investigation into the causes of those issues. Once we have completed our investigation, we will show you what we have found and explain how that contributes to your “uncomfortableness”. We can then fully customize a plan of action to make your home more comfortable.
While it may seem like summer will be eternal here in Central Kentucky, fall and winter weather are just around the corner. Preparing your home before those blustery cold days arrive means you can cozy-up inside and relax when temperatures drop and old man Winter comes knocking on your door.
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