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Winter wonderlands are cute and all, but they get pretty cold too.
By Zillow
While September brings the first day of fall, October can be the harbinger of the winter and all of its frigid pitfalls. It's best to be prepared for the frost and snow with a few simple tasks that will prevent drafts, frosty windows and every homeowner's nightmare: Busted pipes.
A good place to start prior to tackling problem areas in your home is a home energy audit. This will pinpoint specific places in your house where heat escapes. The U.S. Department of Energy has a do-it-yourself energy assessment, or you can hire someone to do the audit for you.
Weatherstripping
Cold air can seep in through those little gaps between your door and the door frame, quickly reversing any effort you take to heat your home. Weatherstripping covers the sides and top of the door and a sweep fills the space between the threshold and door bottom. Hardware stores and home centers sell numerous products in metal, foam, rubber and plastic for this purpose and many can be installed in an afternoon.
Windows
This may be another area where additional weatherstripping or caulk is needed to fill any visible gaps, though that still might not be enough remediation to prevent drafts. While windows add much needed winter light, they can let out a lot of heat — up to 12 times more than a wall if they're single pane. Blinds can keep a little heat in, but heavier shades or curtains will minimize heat loss.
Fireplace
Fantasizing about a cozy evening in front of the fire? Your romantic night might be cut short if your fireplace hasn't been serviced. The National Fire Protection Association recommends that chimneys are swept at least once a year.
Furnace
It's also recommended that furnaces be serviced once a year. A heating system can break down at the most inopportune time is it's not serviced. Worse, it can pump carbon monoxide into a home or eventually stop working. While a furnace service can run up to $100, the cost benefits are undeniable, considering the cost of a major fix or replacement.
Ducts
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, a home with central heating can lose between 10 and 30 percent of its heated air before that air reaches the vents if duct work is not well-connected and insulated, or if it must travel through unheated spaces.
Pipes
Frozen pipes are a royal nuisance, but with a little effort, many instances can be prevented. The best way to tackle these is to wrap pipes that run the exterior of the home with heating tape. Turn off the water and drain the remaining water at the inside valves. You can also purchase insulated covers for additional prevention.
Leave a Comment:
I'm just not accepting winter this year.............
I'll get on that bandwagon with you. Move over so that I can sit down. It's crowded on here.
Winter is coming...
I've always done what's most economical in the winter to save on heating, many of the suggestions (minus the cost of some professional) listed have worked.
Still looking for that wood burner for a good deal for my basement; if I can get that installed, other minor 'leaks' won't matter and the wood is pratically free for me.
Just cuddle with your wife or husband....That works for a lot of us.
Good whiskey, good woman and a good dog. At least the good woman will keep your pipe from freezing.
Unless your fireplace is sealed combustion with a direct outdoor combustion air intake it will not save any heating energy. If you don't have double pane windows a little clear visqueen duct taper on the inside will help create a pretty good insulating air space. Put on a sweater and dig out the old comforter, get an electric blanket and turn the furnace down.
Lived in Minnesota and now live in Newport Beach CA Nice not having to worry about slip sliding away, just the rock and roll.
Just got new windows for the house. . .hoping to keep the shivering at arm's length.
Big Chill? But MSNBC has been telling me for years that all the "Experts" said the Earth was warming, that snow was a thing of the past, etc.
Until it stopped warming and started to cool and snow. Then the same "experts" said the cold and snow and ice were because of global warming too. And MSNBC dutifully repeated that too.
You obviously have a very simple brain. With global warming comes more extreme weather. That means stronger ice storms, hurricanes, tornadoes etc. Please inform yourself before making an a** of yourself in a public forum. Like most people you get stuck on a simple two word phrase and don't understand the meaning. Simple minds
So Sean G, what do you think of everyone saying in the 70's that the globe was cooling. Ask your parents or probably your grandparents about what they heard about when they were young. Maybe YOU should inform yourself by doing some research and not just listening to what others have to say on TV.
Winter Sucks Hard
Even global warming won't keep it from getting cold in the winter. Seriously. <eyeroll>
We have a 10 foot sliding glass door that leads to our patio from the living room so we bought some heavy blankets and hung them over the glass. It works really well. This year I also plan to partition sections of our house off that we don't use. Hopefully that will help with the heating bill as well.