Thanksgiving Energy Check: Quick Ways to Prep Your Home for Cold Weather

As the holiday season approaches quickly and families gather together, it's important to make sure utility bills are monitored and comfortability in your home is met.

At Primary Home Improvements, we're all about helping homeowners stay cozy and warm while keeping energy costs controlled. Here's a simple guide to help prep or assess your home for cold weather, just in time for Thanksgiving. 

 

1. Check your Attic Insulation

Up to 45% of your home's energy can be lost through a poorly insulated attic space. This can put strains on your furnace, which in turn, increases bills and decreases the life of a system. 

 

Quick check: 

- If insulation looks thin, flattened or uneven, drafts could be getting in. 

- Old insulation settles overtime so assess if it's been long enough to re-insulate or not. 

 

2. Seal Up Drafty Areas

Air can come in through windows, doors and the attic which can cause unnecessary heat loss. 

 

Try this Thanksgiving trick:

Stand by doors and windows during a windy day to see if you feel breezes coming through. 

 

Weatherstripping and caulking can help around doors and windows.

 

Primary Home Improvements offers professional attic air sealing to ensure this large space doesn't contribute to air infiltration. 

 

3. Complete a Simple Furnace Prep

A heating system that works twice as hard uses twice the energy.

Before Thanksgiving try these easy steps: 

- Change the filter

- Ensure vents are open and not obstructed

- Consider cleaning or servicing if it's been awhile 

 

We know that the holiday season can be very busy and overwhelming. We're here to help! If you're not sure if you have an under-insulated home, we can check for you during one of our free, in-home estimates. Give our office a call today! 

 

Happy Holiday season from all of us here at PHI!!