The 3 Step Home Winter Prep Checklist
January 16, 2019
If your heating bills were higher than expected last year, you should take these three steps to prepare your home for another Sacramento, CA winter.
If you are like most homeowners, you are probably both mentally and financially preparing for the increase in your home heating bills; but with some careful preparation, you can cut down on your winter related expenses and get more bang for your buck out of your home heating equipment!
Brower Mechanical has been improving the overall home performance of homes from Sacramento to Auburn since 1979, and we have developed our own winter prep checklist to help our customers stay comfortable at home during the California winters, and save some money while doing so.
1. Thoroughly Inspect Your Home
As the seasons change and the temperatures drop, it is a good idea to do a visual inspection of your home from top to bottom. Take a look in your attic for any changes in your insulation. Have any critters decided to make a home out of your uninhabited attic? Are there any visible holes that are allowing for additional outdoor air to infiltrate? A similar inspection of your crawlspace or basement is a good idea as well.
Take a gander at your furnace, or additional heating equipment that you will be relying on come winter. Are there any drips? Any wires that look disconnected? Have you replaced your air filter since last year?
2. Remove Any Window AC Units
If you’ve been supplementing your central air conditioning system with a temporary window unit in an extra bonus room or hard to reach area during the heat of the summer, now is the time to pull it off your window ledge. The heat inside your home will look for any way to escape, and the gaps between your windows and the AC unit can end up costing you.
If you are looking for a more permanent solution for supplementing your central AC, a mini-split is an energy efficient year round heating and cooling solution that can be installed in any room in your home.
3. Test Any Fire & Carbon Monoxide Detectors
Any combustion appliance comes with a risk of fire, and carbon monoxide. If your furnace or water heater is malfunctioning, it is possible for carbon monoxide to leak into the air in your home, which is dangerous even in small doses and will have a severe effect on your indoor air quality. Test your alarms, and make sure they have fresh batteries so your family is alerted at the first sign of trouble!
“See Something, Say Something (to Brower Mechanical!)”
During your winter prep, if you see anything that concerns you, then it is time to call in the pros. Were your heating bills higher than expected last winter? Have you needed to make frequent repairs to your home heating equipment? An energy audit with the whole home performance experts at Brower Mechanical will diagnose any and all of your home’s inefficiencies, so you can make the right choice to boost your home comfort this winter. If you see something, say something—to the winter prep professionals in the Sacramento area, Brower Mechanical!
