Wednesday, March 03, 2010

50 Ingenious Ways to Keep Your Home Warm This Winter

Those living in climates with particularly frigid winters need to ensure that their residences remain safe and warm from the elements. These handy tips and tricks come straight from experts in the field to help homeowners across the world find the best ways to keep them and their families (if they have a family, of course) properly heated and sheltered from the harsh outdoors for one more season.

10 Ways Listed Below. Full List of 50.

1. Clean and inspect furnace filters, blades, and motors regularly : Making certain that every element of a furnace – from filters to casings – is in proper working order ensures that the machine heats a home as efficiently, comfortably, and safely as possible.

2. Perform regular draft hood tests : Furnace draft hoods must especially undergo rigorous inspection and and testing on a regular basis to prevent carbon monoxide leakage and provide the best possible heating. Erie Insurance offers one method of testing draft hoods on furnaces.

3. Don’t turn the thermostat up beyond a certain point : Winterization experts suggest keeping an occupied room between 68°F and 70°F and an empty one between 60°F and 65°F. Doing so will reduce the stress on a furnace and allow it to heat longer, more evenly, and more efficiently.

4. Keep space heaters in the most-used rooms. : Any rooms needing a little extra heating if the recommended temperatures prove uncomfortable can be warmed up quickly with the addition of a space heater.

5. Avoid using ventilation fans in the kitchen and bathroom : Ventilation fans remove some of the heated air from the room, and if left off can drain an entire house’s worth in around an hour.

6. Think of investing in a programmable thermostat : Using a programmable thermostat allows homeowners to preserve energy and time by keeping their house cooler while on vacation or at work and warmer as they occupy it.

7. Wrap heaters located in unheated areas of the home in insulation blankets : Envelope water heaters stationed in basements - or other rooms with insufficient heating – in insulation blankets to keep them from freezing over and making a home far cooler than it ought to be in the winter months.

8. Take advantage of natural heat and light : Open blinds and curtains on windows facing the sun to add some much-needed heat into a home at no extra cost. In the daylight hours, homeowners can lower their thermostat to preserve energy and money as well.

9. Use curtains made of heavy fabric : During the winter, switch out the curtains to heavier materials that trap more natural heat and light than their lighter, more summery kin.

10. Seal up any holes in walls or foundations : Any leaks, cracks, holes, or other flaws in foundations and walls serve as conduits for bits of precious heat to escape, negatively impacting wallets, energy, and comfort levels.

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