Investments that Will Prepare Your House for Winter

Winter is around the corner and every house owner in the world is wondering what they could do in order to increase the comfort levels in their homes. Luckily, this article will offer a little guidance and important tips for those who want to increase their property’s energy efficiency levels, as well as what upcoming projects might prove themselves quite intelligent. From investments such as spray foam insulation, to hardwood floor replacement, these all might come in handy as the winter approaches. Below are some ideas that will certainly increase the comfort levels experienced by you and your family this winter.

Prepare your property’s insulation

During the cold winter months it’s all about increasing the thermic comfort levels. However, in many cases, this comes at a high price, many properties requiring immense energetic efforts. However, this is only the case of poorly insulated properties. Some companies specialised in installing spray foam insulation claim that no area of a property should be neglected during the insulation process, if the owner wants to achieve proper levels of thermic efficiency. However, you should always pay attention to professional’s advice. Insulate where they consider that it is more important. Also, you can easily find online materials, official ones that will offer some guidance in terms of areas that should be insulated in a home. Some of the main areas you should consider for a project of this kind are:

• Attic insulation – during your insulation projects, you should always consider the attic since these areas might have unfinished spaces from where the heat indoors escapes.
• Duct insulation – also important in the insulation process is to consider your duct insulation. These are oftentimes systems that are guilty of important amounts of heat loss.
• Basement insulation – basements are the dampest places inside a house. Also, important amounts of heat are lost if these areas are poorly insulated.

Also, insulation must be applied by a professional company, because properly installed it has the capacity to improve your living conditions on so many levels.

• Insulated properties require less energetic efforts. This will decrease the overall energy bills registered in a household.
• Reduce energy use, and protect the environment. If energy sources are used excessively, greenhouse gas emissions will increase.
• Improve the comfort levels in a household.
• Reduce dependency on heating and cooling systems.

As you can easily notice, installing a reputable insulation system comes to help the owners of a property to prepare themselves better for the cold months.

2. Check your property for leaks

During the cold winter months, you want to make sure that your property is perfectly sealed. Otherwise, there will appear excessive dampness and heat escapes, and you want to make sure that this is not the case of your property. Hire some experts that are able to help you to identify your property weak spots. Generally, people seem to identify leakage spots in the following areas.

• Around windows, if the window frames are old and dysfunctional.
• Around doors. Advisable would be to install storm doors instead of your regular screens. Generally warm air will escape your property if you have a gap from where the outdoor light is visible. Dampness might also enter your house if you notice spaces like these.
• Your property’s roof. Maybe your roof is fairly old. Before the cold months, it would be advisable to have some specialists by and have them take a look at your roof’s state. If necessary, replace it.

Check your heating system

Even if you have a great insulation system installed on your home, you want to make sure that your heating system is working at normal parameters. Regardless of your system of choice, you should prepare it accordingly for the months to come.

• The furnace – while it is yet another necessary expense, you want to make sure that your check your furnace. Make sure that the air is flowing appropriately through it, and check the air filters as well. You most probably lack the necessary skill for doing so, thus we recommend hiring some professionals to help you.
• The water heater – depending on the system of choice, you want to make sure that your water heater is working flawlessly. It’s never an appropriate time to find out that this element is functional during the first day of snow, for instance.
• The chimney – if you are the happy owner of a chimney, make sure to have it professionally swept as the cold months approach. Generally, birds and other animals have a tendency of making their nests in these places and this is a thing that might endanger your and your family’s safety.

Clean the garden like a professional

Take care of your garden like a pro, or hire a professional. However, you must make sure that the gutters, water lines and tools are prepared for the cold months. Take care of the gutters by cleaning the dead leaves and other elements that might have accumulated over the year in these areas. The drainage pipe should also be prepared, directing the water as far from your property as possible. Insulate the water lines in order to prevent those from bursting during the freezing temperatures. Also, make sure that you prepare yourself for the winter by making sure that all your winter tools are properly cleaned and perfectly working.

Invest in creating a professional safety kit

• Buy supplies for your pantry – during winter it’s always advisable to take care of your pantry. Buy as many extra food supplies as possible. Invest in canned goods, as they are not as perishable as fresh food. During many winters snow storms are something regular, and you want to make sure that you have everything needed for emergency cases.
• Emergency lights – you must invest in flashlights and candles, because once again, snow storms are quite frequent during the winter. You want to make sure that you have reliable sources of light in your home.

These are some of the improvements or adjustment one could bring to their homes in order to increase the comfort levels experienced during the cold months.

Contributed byhttp://www.ecostarinsulation.ca/