Affordable Ways to Winterize Your Home
Even with a great furnace in place, cold air can sneak in where you least expect it. The good news? You can take simple and inexpensive steps to combat the cold weather. Winterizing your home will not only keep your family warm and comfortable, it will maximize savings by preventing all of the energy and heat generated by your furnace from being wasted.
Here are some free, practically free, and inexpensive ways to help conserve energy and keep your home warmer this winter.
Free or Practically Free Methods
– Flush your hot water heater via the drain valve to remove sediment. This allows your gas or oil water heater to operate more efficiently.
– Switch your ceiling fan to move in a clockwise direction. The ceiling fan will help push warm air down toward the floor.
– If the weather is particularly cold, clean out your gutters. When gutters overflow and water freezes, icicles can form and create hazardous sidewalk conditions.
– Use a towel, rug, or pre-made draft guard to help close gaps at the bottom of exterior doors. This helps stop cold air from coming in and warm air from escaping.
– If you’ve been using a window A/C unit, remove it and store it away for the winter. This will help make sure extra cold air isn’t getting in around the A/C.
Inexpensive Methods
– Install plastic film over your windows for extra insulation. Plastic film kits are fairly inexpensive, can cover multiple windows, and will help stop drafty air from entering your home. These kits typically cost around $20.
– For under $50, seal gaps or cracks in doors, windows or walls using a caulk gun and caulk.
– Add weatherstripping to windows to further prevent air drafts for around $20.
– Replace your HVAC filters every three months for about $10. This will help increase energy efficiency and extend the life of your furnace or air conditioner.
– Add extra fiberglass insulation to walls, ceilings, attics or basements for about $25 per roll.
Other Methods
– Using a programmable thermostat is a great way to keep energy costs down. Turning your thermostat down 10-15 degrees during an average work day can save you up to 10% per year on your energy bill. If your home is lacking a programmable thermostat, give us a call! We offer a FREE programmable thermostat for any “all new” installation that includes a furnace/AC or furnace/heat pump.
– Ensure you’re getting the most bang for your buck by having Columbia Heating and Cooling come out and perform annual maintenance and cleaning for your HVAC system. This includes our 19-point inspection and a thorough cleaning and testing of all functions. Our HVAC professionals will make sure that your furnace is running at peak performance levels.
Time is running out to take advantage of our special offer. Schedule before December 31st and save! We’re currently offering tune-up specials for your furnace, fireplace or air conditioner. Combine any two tune-ups and save an additional $10 off the total cost.