Things To Do To Get Your House Ready For The Winter

As autumn is always a prelude to the falling temperatures of winter

, it has become a popular time for doing home improvement projects. Some houses require minor renovations whilst others need major improvements. The only way you can determine which category your house falls under is to have an expert check your home ventilation and air conditioning system or HVAC. With a general assessment in hand, you can decide which part of the system needs the most attention especially during winter.

It is always good to start the winter house renovations where it really counts, the boiler. In the coming weeks, you will be using your heating system considerably so it is better to check its condition prior to the winter season. The reason why you need to do this is to see whether the boiler is weeks away from breaking down or that if there is a gas leak somewhere which could lead to carbon monoxide poisoning.

Doing a little bit of general cleaning would also be beneficial. To start off, inspect the roof and chimney. As the roof is the houses first line of defense against snowfall, you have to check if there are any weak points that could undermine the effects of the heating system. Chimneys, on the other hand, should be cleaned as debris formed from burnt materials can clog the smokes normal flow. Gutters should also be unclogged.

Once you are sure your boiler would not give you problems later on, you can proceed to sealing draughts to doors and windows. If the heated air could not circulate well inside the house, it is probably because there are cracks and gaps on windows and doors that let the warm air leak out. Stop this by sealing crevices, gaps and cracks using draught proofing that usually includes sealants, brushes and foams. It is quite easy to locate draughts as they are mostly located near windows and doors.

To help the warm air circulate within the confines of the home, homeowners can also add insulation, particularly on the loft area. It is reported that most households lose about a quarter of their heat through the roof. The houses that are mostly affected by this study are those that have no loft insulations. Experts say that the loft should have an insulation of at least 10 inches. It would also help if the wall cavities as well as the pipes and hot water cylinders are insulated to save up on energy. Whilst loft installations can be a bit costly, it is an investment that will last for about 40 years.

Inside the house, the thermostat controls the overall temperature. So it is essential that your thermostat is working properly. If you think that the thermostat no longer provides you with an accurate temperature reading, then it is time to look for a replacement. Ask a professional to replace your old thermostat with a new one. Once installed, set the temperature of the living room to about 20 degrees Celsius and 16 degrees Celsius to the other parts of the house. This ensures that you have enough heat to go around the house. On the other hand, if there is very cold weather, you can easily adjust the temperature setting. The key here is to not set the thermostat too high. Rather, you can set the heating to come on earlier prior to using a specific room.

Adding heating devices can also help you get your house ready for the winter. You do not really have to buy expensive items as heating devices are relatively cheap, especially the portable ones. These are a very useful home improvement tool for people who want to save on energy by concentrating the heat in a specific room within the house instead of using the centralised heating system. For example, a convector heaters instantly heats up a room at a fraction of the time that more traditional radiant heaters may need. Other devices like fan heaters can also be used for this purpose. This type of heater is quite popular because it is easy to use and is very affordable. It even shuts off automatically once the area has reached its target temperature.

by: Iain Jenkins

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