Winterizing Your Home the Frugal Way
Winterizing your home should start with thinking about Safety First.
The best way to ensure the safety of your HVAC system is to get a heating tune-up to be sure it’s efficient operation throughout the cold season. After that's accomplished, all you have to do is be sure you're not wasting additional energy. You can reduce your heating costs further by doing a few simple things yourself that won't cost a ton. One way to find out if you're wasting energy is to do your own 5-step Energy Audit:
- Check for cracks
Take a walk around the exterior of your house and check for cracks around windows and doors where cold air can come in. Also examine brick work, stucco, siding and the foundation for any gaps. And be sure to check around gas and electric lines and plumbing, too.
- Fill Outside Cracks
Your next step is to get to the hardware store to purchase weather stripping, caulk and foam. The money you save on energy will be well worth the small price you pay for these materials. Then take your check list and plug those cracks and install the weather stripping. It shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours depending on the amount of cracks and the size of your home.
- Plug Interior Air Leaks
Do a similar inside audit, checking for air infiltration around windows, doors and switch plates on outside walls. To find air leaks, use a piece of tissue on a toothpick or an incense stick. Air coming in will make the tissue flag wave, or, disperse the incense smoke. Temporary caulking can be used around windows and then removed in the spring. Foam inserts behind switch plates will eliminate that infiltration problem (be sure power the switch plates are turned off when adding insulation).
- Conduct a thorough Inside Check
Take your Energy Audit into the attic and crawl space. Since insulation gets compacted over the years, adding insulation will help to keep the heat from escaping.
- Shut off Outdoor Water Supplies
Here's an important item that should not be overlooked when preparing your home for the winter cold. It won't save you energy, but it could save you a huge amount of grief and money. Turn off the water supply to outside faucets and even cover them with insulating material. Water damage caused by broken pipes can result in untimely, expensive repairs.
A programmable thermostat that is set to your family's individual lifestyle can also go a long way to energy savings. Adding storm windows or putting in new energy efficient windows can cut heat loss by 25 to 50 percent, and will also save more money.
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Getting Your Home Ready for Winter
Inside your home, the winter cold can be more hazardous than summer heat, because heating a home can be done in so many different (and potentially unsafe) ways; wood fireplace, gas fireplace, radiant heat, electric heat, oil or gas furnace, boiler, even leaving open an oven!
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