How to Prepare Your Furnace for Winter
Come wintertime you need your furnace to be ready to go. This is the time you rely on it and you don’t want to have problems come up when you need it most. We think the best way to achieving success with your HVAC systems is to implement good habits and practice maintenance. Machines break down and have problems, but you can mitigate them and catch them early if you know what to look for.
In this blog, we recommend some great habits that can help give your furnace that boost in efficiency or help it to last longer.
Weatherstripping
Weatherstripping is a great way to assist your furnace and help it make the most of all the energy you are putting into it. Remember that energy-efficiency directly translates into money in your wallet. You pay every single month fuel bills that can really add up especially if you are inadvertently working against your furnace system.
One way homeowners set their furnace up for failure is by not addressing drafty areas of your home. Two of the biggest problem areas are around your doors and windows. Here is where your home is closest to the outside air. You don’t want these spots to be areas where your home is losing heat at an alarming rate. Weatherstripping can slash your level of heat loss by a large amount, but how does it work? Essentially, weatherstripping is a way for you to plug up the gaps in your windows and doors where heat could escape. For your door, the most important area is where it meets the ground. Typically, this area isn’t completely flush and can have a pretty wide gap. A weatherstrip slides under the door and blocks up the gap from both sides ensure heat stays in and the cold winter air stays out.
The same concept applies to your windows, but the tools are slightly different. Instead of a bulky piece plugging up large areas, you need a bit more finesse. Things like caulking or adhesive weatherstripping tape are great for giving that little bit of a stronger seal to prevent heat from leaking out.
Insulation
Every home needs insulation. This is true across all seasons of the year and in every area of the country as well. However, many people take their insulation for granted. They know they have it, but they never think about how they can maintain it and whether or not their insulation is in good shape or not. It’s important that you check on these things regularly. Many homeowners can go months without going into their attic. How frustrated would you be if when you finally do, you realize your insulation has suffered water damage and hasn’t been helping as much as it could for months! That would suck and we don’t want that to happen to you, so don’t be afraid to go inspect your insulation every once in a while. The average homeowner can usually tell when something is wrong with their insulation.
A second underrated aspect of insulation is the little areas where you can improve it. While insulation in your attic or basement can prevent a lot of heat loss, it can’t cover it all. In fact, small investments in heavy drapes or rugs can also give a huge boost to your home’s insulation capabilities. It’s definitely something worth looking into and can help give your home the warm cozy presence that you want it to have come wintertime.
We are passionate about helping our customers save money and improve their homes. We’d love to help if you have any other questions. We have plenty more ideas to help you save on energy costs.
Need HVAC maintenance or repairs? We got you covered! Give us at Penning Plumbing, Heating, Cooling & Electric a call at 616-538-0220 or fill out an online contact form!
