Four Easy Ways to Winterize Your Home
Four Easy Winterizing Tips
When it gets chilly out, we all want to keep our homes as warm as possible while keeping our heating bill as low as possible. Now, that may seem impossible, but there are tons of ways to heat your home efficiently, save money, and reduce energy waste – here are four, easy tips to help you get started.
1. Check the Filter
Imagine you’re drinking from a straw, but then someone comes along and pinches it. It’s a lot harder to drink and you’ve got to use more energy, right?
The same is true of the filters in your HVAC system – if they get dirty and clogged up, the HVAC unit has to work a lot harder to force the air through them. This puts undue strain on the unit (which means more wear and tear) and consumes more energy.
You should replace your filters regularly (once ever 1-3 months) to prevent this from happening; your air will be cleaner, the HVAC won’t have to work as hard, and you can see a nice drop in your heating bill!
2. Get a (Furnace) Check Up
A furnace is a lot like a person or car . . . well, they’re kind of like . . . they are very, very mildly like those things in that they all need regular check-ups.
A furnace is a hard working machine, after all, and it will become less efficient over time. Having a qualified technician check and perform maintenance on your unit can keep it in tip-top shape for much longer.
Best of all, some manufacturer’s offer annual inspections for free. Check and see if you qualify!
3. Craft Away Drafts
Old or poorly fitted windows and doors can really hurt your home and increase your heating bills anywhere from 5-30%.
So it’s time to make some draft snakes. These simple crafts block drafts quickly and easily (though permanently fixing the draft problem is, in the end, a better but more expensive choice).
Check out this list of various types of draft snakes that you can make at home!
4. Take a Spin
This one is as simple as flipping a switch! If you have ceiling fans in your home, there should be a switch on their base that changes the direction they spin.
Normally, fans pull air up (which is great in summer) but you want to flip the switch so they blow air down. Why? Hot air rises and “sticks” to the ceiling. Blowing this air down will help make your home more comfortable, which means you may be able to lower your thermostat a bit and still be comfy.
Thanks to Popular Mechanics, Michele Dawson of Angie’s List, and Tipnut for the great information! Go check them out!
