If your gas or electricity bill doubles in winter, you should adapt your home to the climatic conditions of this season. Preparing the house for winter includes insulating the attic more, sealing the windows and doors that have drafts, cleaning the gutters, heating systems and wood stoves and protecting the water pipes. Preparing a house for the winter will help you lower your bills.
Steps
Step 1. Start the winter preparation work in the summer
The costs of heating your home can very quickly take away a good percentage of your paycheck (if you moved from a very mild or hot region, you probably know how air conditioning weighs on your electricity bill; the situation here is the same, but in reverse).
- Insulate the attic more if you have one. The heat moves upwards and will disperse through a badly insulated attic. The insulating materials in glass wool are sold in rolls, with paper backing that you can spread and fix with pins to prepare the house for winter.
- Apply sealant to the cracks around windows and doors to get rid of drafts. Use waterproof sealant on the outside of the frame.
- Add rebate seals to doors and windows when you adapt the house to winter to protect it from the cold.
- Install gaskets to the power outlets on the exterior walls. They will eliminate the entry of drafts and, therefore, are important to prepare the house for winter.
- Clean the hot air heating system, if you have one, and replace the air filter. Dirty filters obstruct the flow of air and could cause a fire.
- Call a technician to take a look at the wood stove. You should contact a professional to clean and inspect it when you decide to prepare the house for winter.
- Close the rooms you don't use. Try to exclude areas of the house that don't require heating.
Step 2. Consider installing double glazed windows on your property
Install them one at a time if you can't afford to pay them all right away. Double glazed windows will help you fight the winter cold in the house.
Step 3. Clean the gutters in the fall after the leaves have fallen
Leaves and other elements will clog the gutters, which could create a sheet of ice on the roof.
Step 4. Wrap the pipes in unheated areas, including the basement or garage, with foam insulation material, polyurethane pipe insulation or heating cables, thereby preventing them from freezing and exploding
- The heating cable is an electrical wire that connects to a thermostat to keep the ducts exposed to a specific temperature.
- Read the manufacturer's instructions when installing insulation products to prepare the house for winter, and remember that if you use the heating cable, you will need to connect it to an electrical source.
Step 5. Close the exterior vents in your home as soon as it gets cold
This action will help you prepare it for winter.
Step 6. Install counter windows, if you have them
If you do not have counter windows or double glazed windows, it may be necessary to put cling film on the windows when you prepare your home for the winter.
- Get some heat-insulating cling film and adhesive draft excluder if you don't have counter windows or double-glazed windows.
- Adjust the film with a utility knife according to the window frame.
- Use adhesive draft excluder to attach the film to the inside of the window frame. Use the heat from the hair dryer to shrink it.
Step 7. Change the direction of the ceiling fan, if you have one
During the hot summer months the fans are tilted in a certain way to provide an effect similar to that of air conditioning, while in winter they can be adjusted to make them turn in the opposite direction in order to circulate the hot air.
Step 8. Adjust your wardrobe
As for what you wear to bed, bring out your warmest pajamas, such as flannel ones. Keep a dressing gown by the bed and wear it when you get up. Put the flip flops in the closet and buy new slippers, which have a sturdy sole and a warm lining. Bring heavier socks. During the winter months, put aside your t-shirts and shorts and opt for light, but warm, long-sleeved sweatshirts and sweaters (have a couple of T-shirts available, to wear instead of your tank top). Buy thermal underwear.
Step 9. Eat right
A hot breakfast is absolutely preferable to cold milk with cereals. Oats, eggs, toast and pancakes or waffles for breakfast and a hot soup for lunch or dinner will warm you up (sprinkle some freshly made popcorn on a tomato soup. It's a delight that will help keep you warm). Consume more carbohydrates. Hot pasta dishes and stews with potatoes and vegetables heat up very well. Are you afraid of gaining weight? Your body will burn calories from carbohydrates, giving you heat, but going out and shoveling snow is also great exercise.
Step 10. Add another blanket to the bed
Padded blankets are expensive, but the investment is really worth it. Consider buying flannel sheets and / or a duvet.
Step 11. Clean the gutters
Having the gutters free of dirt will allow melted snow to flow from the roof through adequate drainage, instead of flowing over the house or reaching the foundation.
Step 12. Prepare an emergency kit, have it ready, and inform all family members so they know what it is for and where to find it
Put it in a place within everyone's reach and whose height does not exceed one meter. The kit should include:
- Flashlights and batteries.
- Candles and a lighter or many matches (wrap them in a plastic bag to keep them dry). You could consider a battery-powered lamp or an oil lamp (do not store this lamp with oil inside. Keep the flammable liquid well sealed and in a different place, until you need to use it).
- A battery-powered radio.
- Food; keep foods that should not be cooked on hand.
- Canned fruit.
- Canned meat and fish, such as tuna or sliced beef.
- Canned cereals.
- Chocolate bars or a couple of bags of chocolate chips.
- A lot of water.
- A small camping stove with propane gas and at least two extra canisters of propane gas (never, ever use a camping or charcoal kitchen unit indoors!).
Advice
- When you remove the ice that has formed on the windows, use your vehicle's defroster for a couple of minutes. This will help melt the ice, making it easier to scrape it off with a plastic scraper. Do not pour water or use the garden pump on the frozen window.
- To quickly fix drafty rooms, roll up a towel and place it along the bottom of the doors or windows.
- Light a few candles on the coffee table (read the "Warnings"). The effect is relaxing and you will be surprised by the warmth emanating from a candle!
- If you have transparent thermal insulation film on your windows, you can put it aside at the end of the season and reuse it for the following winter. This will save you time and energy, avoiding having to go back and take measurements of the thermal insulation film sheets.
- Once you prepare the water pipes for the winter, you shouldn't insulate them again.
- Don't forget your pets! They too will need food, water and heat.
Warnings
- Closing all vents will keep the cold out, but could expose you to carbon monoxide poisoning. Therefore, install detectors in your home if you close all vents.
- Keep candles and / or oil lamps at a safe distance from flammable materials, such as curtains, furniture, and bedding. Turn everything off before going to sleep, otherwise it will be very dangerous.
