These days, the mercury on our outdoor thermometers seems to be dipping lower and lower and pushing the limits of what is safe for normal human beings. We bundle up in hats, scarves, gloves, and heavy coats to protect ourselves from such adverse conditions, but is your home adequately protected? There are a plethora of ways to protect your home from extremely cold temperatures, and to protect your bottom line as well.
- Protect your Pipes – Chances are if your house is on the older side, insulation may be a problem that develops into the bigger problem of frozen pipes. Frozen pipes can be an unnecessary hassle that comes from drafts in the home or extreme cold weather. To keep this from happening, cover all outside spigots and turn off the water supply to them. Another way to keep your pipes flowing is to drip both hot and cold water when not in use. Even something as simple as opening the doors under your sinks can help!
- Inspections – If your furnace is the only source of heat in your home, the importance of regular maintenance inspections cannot be stressed enough. There is little that is more frustrating than not having heat when you need it. If you haven’t had your heating unit inspected yet this year, do so now and ensure you’ll be toasty and warm when the weather is bleak.
- Weatherizing – To keep from having to constantly adjust the temperature inside your home and costing yourself a ridiculous amount of money from high energy bills, consider weatherizing your home. Weatherizing means protecting your home from drafts by ensuring that your home is sound on the outside, and fixing any issues indoors. Caulking windows, applying a weather strip around doors, or even upgrading your insulation can help.
- Replace your Filters – If it’s been awhile since you’ve replaced the filters in your heating units this can cause a loss of efficiency, thus forcing you to keep cranking up the heat for better results. Don’t allow something so simple to drive your energy bills sky high.
- Newer Equipment – Perhaps your old furnace or heat pump just isn’t doing its job because its worn out. Consider the option of replacing your unit with a newer and more energy efficient unit and save yourself some money in the long run that would’ve been spent to replace parts, schedule service calls, or pay gigantic bills.
When the temperature drops outside, be sure to contact us for all of your heating needs!
Sources:
http://www.todayshomeowner.com/how-to-protect-your-home-during-extreme-cold-weather/
http://www.houselogic.com/home-advice/seasonal-maintenance/protect-your-home-cold-weather-threats/#.
http://www.wikihow.com/Prepare-Your-Home-for-Cold-Weather
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