10 Ways to Winterize Your Home – Part 1

Even with an El Nino winter, it is important to make sure that your home has been winterized properly.  A thoroughly winterized home will not only make your home more comfortable, but it can also help you save money in the long run.  Here are the top ten ways to help you properly winterize your home.

Stop the Drafts!

One of the quickest and cheapest ways to keep the heat in your home is to stop the drafts around the windows or doors.  Drafts can account for up to 30% of wasted energy in your home, so it is important to seal any leaky doors or windows.  There are many products on the market to help you with this task and are great weekend do-it-yourself jobs.  For a quick, temporary fix, roll up a towel or old blanket, and set it against the bottom of your door.

Turn Down Your Thermostat!

Although this sounds counterintuitive, smart management of your home’s thermostat can save you big money over the course of a winter.  Turning down your thermostat by 1 degree can save you 3% on your next heating bill!  Proper thermostat management can quickly add up to big savings.  A programmable thermostat is a great investment as it will allow you to program when and how you heat your home.  It will pay for itself in its first winter and will allow you to manage your home’s heat in a more responsible and cost-efficient manner.

Clean Those Filters!

During the winter months your furnace will be doing most of the heating, so it is a wise choice to make sure that the filters in your furnace are clean.  Dirty furnace filters can restrict your furnace’s airflow and thus increase your furnace’s energy demand.  If dirty filters are left unchanged, this can eventually place unneeded and unwanted stress on your furnace.  It is advisable that you check and replace your furnace filters monthly to keep your furnace running at its peak performance.

Use Your Fans!

Use your fans in the winter months?  This sounds absurd, doesn’t it?  However, your ceiling fans have the ability to run both clockwise and counterclockwise.  During the summer months, run your ceiling fan in a counterclockwise direction; this helps keep us cool.  If you change your fan’s direction to clockwise, your fan will circulate the warmer air that is trapped near the ceiling back down into the center of the room.  Give it a try!

By properly winterizing your home, you should enjoy a comfier and warmer house.  Most of the new homes in the real estate market near Simon Fraser University have already been winterized.  These homes offer some of the most energy efficient homes in all of the lower mainland.  By following the previous tips, you too should be able to realize a more cost-effective way to enjoy the winter months.