Improve your family's year-round indoor comfort:
- Sometimes it's nice to open windows and let the outside air into your home, especially when the temperature is perfect... but who wants to lose valuable heat or cool air when it's much nicer indoors? To keep your warm air warm, and your cool air cool, make sure attic, attic stairway, basement, and attached garage walls are properly insulated.
- Even if you have new windows or doors, you could still be losing valuable heat or cool air in the summer. How? Bad caulking or weather stripping, that's how! So be sure to check on it every now and then, and make adjustments as needed. Your fuel bill will thank you! This is especially important around windows, doors, and garage access ways. Also, be sure to seal and insulate your ducts.
- Who doesn't love a relaxing night in front of the fire? Just don't forget to close the fireplace flue when the night is over, or else you'll lose valuable heat. But first, make sure your fire is out completely...because if it's still smoldering, your home will become smoky. And there's nothing relaxing about that!
- Think you need a large furnace or boiler because you have a large home? Not necessarily...you see, today's systems are smaller and more energy efficient. Just be sure to choose a system that's guaranteed to meet the needs of your family, your budget, and your home.
- Be good to your pipes...and they'll be good to you...What the heck are we talking about? Well, in the winter, your pipes could use a little extra something to prevent them from freezing...So to avoid a potentially expensive and disastrous situation, consider installing specific pipe-insulating products like "pipe sleeves," UL-listed "heat tape," "heat cable," or similar materials on exposed water pipes.
- Every now and then, have a look around in your basement, crawl space, attic, garage, and under kitchen and bathroom cabinets...For what? Water supply lines...Why? Because both hot and cold water pipes can freeze, which means they should be properly insulated. And while you're at it, check for other unheated areas where water supply lines might be located.