Tips to winterize your home
Posted Dec 10, 2015 7:31 am.
Last Updated Dec 10, 2015 8:01 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Are you literally throwing money out the window?
December 22 marks the first official day of winter, and if you want to save money and stay comfortable in the cold weather, you’ll need to check a few items on your to do list.
Josh Orzech from Direct Energy says the number one important thing you need to do to keep comfortable this winter is to get a furnace tune up — especially if you haven’t had one in the last 12 months.
“Furnaces, unfortunately, for no rhyme or reason, seem to break down on the coldest day and in the middle of the night,” he said.
He says it’s also important to take a look outside.
“Most, if not all high efficiency furnaces now exhaust out to the side of the house, and if the snow piles up the side of the house and actually covers those exhaust vents, that is a very dangerous thing for the residents of the home, because that could not allow the dangerous gases to exhaust, and actually force them to stay inside the house,” Orzech explained.
It’s also important to make sure windows are properly sealed.
“Especially with the blowing snow we have in Calgary, your windows do take quite a beating over the winter months, and you can lose quite a bit of energy and heat through those small little cracks,” he said.
Orzech says you should also check for clogged gutters because that could lead to ice damming.
“Which are those beautiful crystals hanging down from the eaves troughs. It’s beautiful to look at, but actually very bad for your house, and could cause significant water damage in the spring,” he said, adding it could also be a sign you don’t have enough insulation in your attic.
Some other tips: reverse the rotation of your ceiling fans to make sure they are rotating clockwise to distribute heat evenly throughout your home, and as you bring home that Christmas tree, make sure you are trimming the trees outdoors too to keep branches from collecting too much ice and damaging whatever is below.
