Old Man Winter’s just about here, and he’s after your house. There are a number of ways to protect your home and your energy budget from the effects of cold, snow and ice, but they take a little effort and planning. So set aside some time on a Saturday afternoon and get to work preparing your house for the onslaught to come.
1) Insulate Your Attic
Supplementing your attic’s insulation is an excellent way of keeping heat from escaping from your living space and heading up into the attic. With a well-insulated attic, heat from your house won’t melt the snow on the roof and send water down to your gutters, where it can refreeze and create damaging ice dams. The U.S. Department of Energy offers these helpful tips for installing or supplementing attic insulation. Also make sure that your attic is well-ventilated to keep it cool.
2) Remove Outside Hoses
It’s tempting to leave hoses attached to the side of the house since, after all, spring is just around the corner. It’s not a good idea, however. The water in the hoses can freeze, melt and freeze again, forcing water back into your inside walls and causing significant damage. Disconnect, drain and store hoses neatly in your garage or shed for next season.
3) Install Window Insulating Kits
Windows are one of the primary places where heat loss in a home occurs. You might not be able to afford to replace all your windows, but another option is to invest in window insulation kits that can be installed quickly and easily. They have a sheet of plastic that can be placed over the window, and a hair dryer is used to smooth and tighten the plastic. They may not be the most attractive solution, but they’re effective and affordable.
4) Cover or Wrap Exposed Pipes
Make sure to wrap any exposed pipes with an insulating cover to keep them from freezing and backing up water into the house.
5) Clean Your Gutters
Cleaning leaves, dirt, sand and other debris from your gutters is an easy way to prevent ice dams and keep melting snow from refreezing in your gutter. Preferably, clean the gutters late in the fall, when all the leaves have fallen. Rinse them out with a hose and make sure the water runs freely down the outlet.
6) Inspect and Clean Chimneys
Have your chimneys inspected and cleaned regularly. Chimneys for wood stoves are especially vulnerable to creosote build-up, so it’s important that these cleaned thoroughly, often more than once a season. Look for a reputable chimney sweep with good references.
7) Weatherize Doors
Next to windows, doors are one of the major places where energy is lost. Use weather stripping and door sweeps to protect against leaks.
8) Wrap the Water Heater
The water heater is one of those overlooked appliances in the house, but a significant amount of energy is lost just keeping the water in its tank warm. Wrap it in insulation to help keep from losing this energy.
9) Keep the Water Flowing
If there are any pipes that run through unheated areas, keep a slow trickle of water flowing through them to keep them from freezing. This is a good idea in your house itself if you’re going to be gone for a period of time and there’s a possibility the heat might go out.
10) Install a Programmable Thermostat
These are a great idea for saving energy, since you can program the heat to be lower when you’re not home and higher when you’re home. A programmable thermostat is one of the best ways to save energy and control heating costs.