With temperatures dropping as we near winter, it’s a good idea to prepare your home for the cold! Follow this checklist to make sure your home is prepared to stay warm and get through the cold weather.
Check Your Furnace: You do not want an under-performing furnace this time of year. Have an expert come out and check that your furnace is in good condition and ready to run!
Reverse Your Fan: Many people don’t realize that fans are meant to be used year-round! While fans normally push air down, cooling the room, most fans have a switch that reverses the direction they spin. Reversing your fan causes it to pull air up instead of pushing it down, which pulls the cold air up and allows warmer air to circulate through the room.
Reduce Drafts: Even just a little bit of airflow from a door or window can affect your home’s temperature. While your windows and doors are sealed properly is important, sometimes drafts can come in from the edges of windows or bottoms of doors. Rolling a towel up and placing it at the base of your door or windows can help prevent drafts and keep your home warm!
Update Your Doors and Windows: Some doors and windows are better at maintaining temperatures than others. For example, single-pane windows let allow much more temperature transfer than double-pane windows. If your home has outdated doors and windows, replaced them can significantly help your temperature control.
Close Your Interior Doors: If your home uses local heating systems for each room, such as baseboard or radiator heaters, keeping the interior doors closed will significantly help each room stay warm. Most of these units are meant to heat a small area, not an entire home, so closing your doors allows each heater to maintain a much smaller area.