Keeping your home warm and comfortable in freezing temperatures is essential and important. However, it needs prior planning and proper understanding of the energy consumption in your house. Heating is expensive and you would not like to pay uselessly for heat which escapes from minute spaces around doors and windows. You need to find ways to effectively trap the energy inside and maintain it. In this blog, we discuss a few most basic things you should do to maintain the warm temperatures. Don’t wait till winters to update your home, you can start in fall. Beginning early will ensure your furnace doesn’t have to work overtime to make up for the heat loss, and you start saving on energy bills instantly. Warm Home Insulation has been providing quality and cost-effective insulation solutions in Winnipeg since 1977.
ESSENTIAL INSULATION UPGRADES
Insulation creates a thermal barrier protecting your home from the outside. You can identify fails if the energy bills have suddenly spiked or if the temperatures are fluctuating frequently or if you are experiencing uneven heat throughout the home. By investing in quality insulation you will save yourself from these hassles. Here are the most basic yet effective insulation steps you should take:
Adjust the Weather Stripping – Firstly, visually inspect whether the doors are causing any energy leaks. A simple way to do it will be to check if any light is entering through. If yes, then the air would also be coming in. You can feel the air by your hands to confirm. It may be cooler, but if you feel an air movement happening, cold is transferring through the door. You can adjust the weather stripping properly to avoid this from happening.
Check the Rim-Joist – Rim-joists are major air leakage points. It should be effectively filled with spray-foams; otherwise, it is hard to insulate it. As the joist comes from the floor and meets over the foundation, it is tough to get the insulation in there properly. But spray-foam gets in everywhere and seals everything. Read about the other reasons why spray foam is the right choice for your home in our other blog.
Insulate the Attic – The hot air always rises and moves towards the ceiling; the attic plays an important role in keeping this air hot for as long as possible. It can be upgraded anytime and is easy to do so. The current value for attic insulation in homes is R-50. ‘R’ means resistance to heat flow. The higher the value, the greater the insulating power. So, you can put in more foam in the attic to bring the value to R-50. If the existing insulation is compromised, you can take it out and restart.
Install Smart Thermostats – Like other smart devices, you can control your home’s temperatures through internet-connected devices. You can further program them to enjoy warmer temperatures when people are at home. It lowers the cost of heating.
Check Furnaces – These are extremely important as they provide most or all of the heat the house needs. So, make sure they are running efficiently all the time. You can get it inspected yearly by a professional furnace company to make sure everything’s fine. Another thing which you can do yourself is to check the filters. It should be as clean as possible. The cleaner it is, the better warm air will reach you from the furnace and through ducts.
Reverse Ceiling Fan – A ceiling fan in reverse pushes the accumulated hot air at the top of the ceiling towards the bottom of the room. This way you experience the hot air way better.
Take Care of the Blinds – You can keep the blinds a little bit open to keep the air circulating around the windows. It eliminates a little bit of the condensation or frost which might have developed. The window may be leaking air from the frame or the window seals. You can replace the complete windows or only the sealed unit. If you don’t have the budget, there is a simple fix. Take some caulking and put it all the way around making a good seal. Further, you can get plastic to put on windows from the local hardware store. Stick tape around the frame and the plastic to it. Later, blow a hair-dryer on it. It will shrink the plastic which will completely seal the window.
For better energy leak detection and efficient installations, call a professional to winterize your home. Get in touch with our team for insulation services in Winnipeg and surrounding areas.
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