Winter is Near! Here are 10-Simple & Cheap DIY Home Winterization Tips.

Winter is approaching – some areas faster than others. Now is the time to do your DIY Home Winterization on your home.  These tips will vary from house to house and from region to region, as the upper northeast of the United States isn’t comparable to our Winters here in Houston, even if we get a little snow.  Below will be some simple do it yourself tips for not only saving energy – but being more comfortable this winter.

Besides the hard to do or expensive things — even beyond the normal yearly checkups of having your local professional come out and service your home. I will cover the basics items that we all can do, no matter our level of expertise in a weekend.

 

  1. Drafts – a typical home loses 40% of its air every hour. So Yes dad we are heating the outside. Lol.  Most drafts are around windows and doors.  Caulking your windows and doors is simple, cheap and will have a huge impact.  Also, don’t forget about those door snakes that slide under your door to seal up drafts. While purchasing Caulk – buy some & try out a can of Spray Foam Insulation for those larger & unseen areas.
  2. Changing your Furnace Filters – While there are many opinions on what filter to get – my opinion is the cheaper the better *but change every 30days. Yes it may not catch as much dust/allergins or others as some describe – but it puts less of a strain on your HVAC system. And lets be honest who changes their filter every 30-days without missing.  *Simple Suggestion – buy in bulk & put them somewhere you’ll see them a lot to remind you to change the filters.
  3. Insulation – check your attic; make sure you have adequate insulation. IF you live in a home 10yrs or older, it may be time to re-up on your insulation.  While this may cost a few hundred dollars, your return on investment can/will be in less than 1yr.  Also remember whether it be (batt or blown insulation) to keep it fluffy – if you store things in your attic don’t walk on your insulation or flatten it.
  4. Foil Insulation – this is my secret weapon.  You can find some in Lowes/Home Depot in the insulation isle, by those spray foam cans. You can also buy larger rolls online.  It basically looks like a Huge Roll of Aluminum Foil.  And it acts like it too – it acts as a radiant barrier (yes same term for Green Building) – samething they give runners after a marathon or a hiker who is cold.  It was developed by NASA, now for our benefit.  It acts as a blanket to keep in the Heat/AC in your home.  Lay it over your Fluffy Insulation nice and flat.  It’ll help keep the heat in when it rises & tries to leave your home.  Then in the Summer – it’ll have the radiant barrier effect of not only keeping the AC inside your birth
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    control home, but deflecting those radiant sun rays. *Instillation tip – get a extendable pole, tape on a nail to the end & fish it out/over your attic.  This way you don’t have to walk on ceiling joist/being safe.
  5. Water Heaters – Purchase a $35.00 Water Heater blanket. Most homes have traditional tank WH.  By insulating your water heater – it’ll keep the heat in and keep your temperature constant longer.  This is a very simple and advance cost saving thing you can do.
  6. HVAC Mastic or Tape – This may not be a familiar term to most. But this is a greyish-goo like substance (less than $20) that seals up air leakage like glue.  Most have seen/familiar with the silver tape.  Mastic is good because it can get into the small areas – especially with flex pipes.  Be careful because it is messy & if it gets on your clothes it will not come off.  But typical homes lose up to 5-15% of their air through leakage.  So again we are cooling/heating our attics or basements – before it ever reaches our rooms.
  7. Programmable Thermostat – if you don’t have one, stop everything and get one; while getting/doing the above. But by simply adjusting your t-stat a few degrees can save lots of money and strain on your HVAC system as well.  Especially have it adjusted while you’re gone to work, or asleep.  Seems simple, but we a lot of times just forget about it.
  8. PVC Insulation – Most of us in Houston only do this to our exterior hose bibs when a freeze is coming. But make sure your pipes are insulated as well.  Especially for those in more northern areas where the pipes are more exposed.
  9. Ceiling Fans – did you know that switch on your fan is there for a purpose? Flipping it to a clockwise rotation will pull the hot air downward – helping to keep the heat down/in your home.
  10. Throw Blankets – Last, but not Least! Put out a few throw blankets around the house. Surprisingly enough enjoying resting on the couch, we stop moving our body temperature drops and there is just a slight chill that a simple cover of a blanket can take care of – without adjusting anything on your home.

I kept this list simple and very economical for a reason.  IF you try to do all of this it should add up to major costs savings and a level of comfort that you can feel.  These items can easily be done over one weekend with no hassle.  If your up north – you better hurry, if you are down south, here in Houston – there is no better time to walk into that Hot box we call our attic than now.

Treat your home like a car – it takes regular maintenance as well as preventative maintenance.  Doing this on a regular basis before you have to will not only prolong the life of your home, but make it more efficient.  “Live Efficiently”.