Preparing Your Home For Cooler Weather

A home that is unprepared for cold temperatures can sustain costly damages. Ignoring these problems now may cost you a lot of money when emergency repairs are necessary. Extreme cold comes with a variety of problems, from bursting pipes to energy inefficiency due to leaks. Preparing for these problems in advance gives you a leg up when the cold comes. We’ve put together this guide to help you prepare for winter.

Furnace Repair & Maintenance

 Now is the perfect time to have your furnace cleaned & properly tuned up ensuring the heat is working properly & ready before the frigid winter weather arrives. Even if you don’t need a furnace repair, hiring a pro to ensure your furnace or heat pump is ready for the season is a must-do. A professional HVAC technician will be able to identify any minor issues with your furnace and solve them before any become major problems and costly repairs. Annual tune ups are the best ways to confirm your heating system is clean, in good condition, and that it is achieving its maximum energy efficiency levels according to the manufacturer specifications. The tune up also confirms your safety as it is part of the routine inspection to check for harmful situations, like a cracked heat exchanger or poisonous gas leaks. Tune ups are the #1 way to ensure all gas and electrical components are working safely according to the manufacturer design.

Chimney Safety

Make sure your fireplace chimney & vents (as well as any heating appliances burning gas, oil, wood or coal), are in good, clean condition. This will prevent fires and prevent the possibility of carbon monoxide entering your home.

Turn Off all Outdoor Faucets

Educate the entire family on how to turn off the water in case a pipe does burst. Undrained water in pipes can freeze, which will cause pipes to burst. Start by disconnecting all garden hoses and draining the water that remains in outdoor spigots.

If you don’t have frost-proof faucets, turn off the shut-off valve inside your home. Also, if you have a Lawn-Irrigation System be sure to drain the sprinkler-system pipes & spigots to avoid leaks & freezing.

Repair the Outside of your Home

Wind, ice, and moisture can combine to damage your roof, shutters, or siding. Ensure your roof tiles are secure and none are missing. Finding and sealing air leaks can increase energy efficiency throughout your home. Warm air escaping through leaks will cost you money on your energy bill.

Be sure to clean your gutters before the cold comes. A clogged gutter will take on the water that drips off the roof. When the water freezes it can force other water under the roof and cause serious leaks. Small preventative steps go a long way.

Attic Insulation

If your home had lots of icicles last winter — or worse, ice dams, which can cause melted water to back up and flow into your house – this is a great indication you probably don’t have the right amount of insulation in place.

When you add insulation to your attic, it is comparable to wrapping a blanket around a building. Even a structure with the most state of the art furnace or air conditioner needs to be insulated properly to maintain temperature control. Poor insulation results in colder inside temperatures and higher heating and cooling costs. Most homes have a little more than 6-8 inches of attic insulation which is simply not enough!

Properly insulating your attic area makes your home a more comfortable temperature without having to put too much stress on your HVAC unit and it will help you reduce your utility costs.

To get more detail and find out how much money you can save by increasing your attic’s insulation just give Blue Frost Heating & Cooling a call for a no pressure free in home evaluation & estimate.

Reverse Your Ceiling Fans

If your ceiling fan has a reverse switch, use it to run the fan’s blades in a clockwise direction after you turn on your heat. The fan will produce an updraft and push down into the room heating air from the ceiling (because hot air rises). This is very helpful in rooms with high or lofty ceilings -and it might even allow you to turn down your thermostat a couple degrees for even more energy savings.

Call Blue Frost Heating and Cooling

Whether you need a maintenance tune up, repair, replacement or any heating or cooling service, Blue Frost Heating and Cooling is the company to call. We offer free in-home estimates. Our Trane Comfort Specialists will provide you with expert recommendations on improving energy efficiency levels, indoor air quality, heating, cooling and water heater replacements. Blue Frost Heating & Cooling will offer the best HVAC products on the market, and we are always ready and able to help.

At Blue Frost Heating & Cooling, we’ve remained the best HVAC company in the area since 1973 because we work hard, work well, hire the best staff in the area, and offer a broad array of services at an affordable price. Most importantly, we truly believe in our motto, your comfort and safety is our business. To learn more about what we do, browse around our website bluefrosthvac.com Call (630) 444-0860 or email service to schedule today. We offer 24/7 emergency service.