Winterize Your Home In 7 Easy Steps

There are a number of steps you can take to make sure your home is comfortable and energy-efficient this winter. Here are seven tips to help you winterize your home this season.

1. Seal and weatherstrip your home. Making your house airtight will keep cold outdoor air from leaking in. Add weatherstripping to doors, windows and other openings around the house. Do a search for other holes and gaps where air could be getting in, particularly in the attic and basement. Seal these leaks with caulking or expanding foam. Install foam gaskets behind the plates of light switches and electrical sockets to seal them.

2. Check for and seal leaking ductwork. As important as it is to keep bad air from leaking in, it’s also necessary to keep good air from leaking out. When heating your home, leaking ducts can cause energy losses of 30 percent or more.

3. Install insulation. Even if you have insulation, it may not be enough. If your attic insulation doesn’t extend past your rim joists, you need more. Also, think about installing insulation in your walls and floor.

4. Install energy-efficient windows. These can be expensive but worthwhile over time. They seal securely to keep cold air out and reflect more radiant heat to warm your home, reducing your need to turn on the furnace.

5. Reverse your ceiling fans. Reversing the direction of your fans will force warm, rising air back down into the room, keeping occupants warm. Just remember to turn off fans in empty rooms to save energy.

6. Install a programmable thermostat. This can be set to warm your house comfortably while you’re at home but switched to a cooler, more efficient setting while you’re at work.

7. Have your HVAC technician perform routine maintenance. Your furnace should get a tune-up once a year, and fall is the perfect time for it. An HVAC professional will make sure your furnace is running smoothly and efficiently to keep you comfortable all season.

For more tips on how to winterize your home, as well as general home comfort advice, contact our experts at Sobieski Services. We proudly serve the Wilmington area’s HVAC needs.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Wilmington, Delaware and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC & plumbing systems).

Image Credit: Michael of Scott