How Can We Help Protect You From The Winter?
The New Year is here, and so is the weather. All over New Jersey, winter will be taking more of a toll on us than the NJ State Parkway.
Don’t let the weather get to your house as much as it will probably get to you. While it may very well be a Winter Wonderland outside, it’s your job to keep it outside, so you can be comfortable inside. Although, a lot can be said for wearing sweaters, jackets and blankets indoors.
Before you call an HVAC company and start spending money out of concern, here are some steps you can take to look HVAC-savvy to your friends and family. Maybe you can even save yourself some money and time searching for problem areas.
Check your fans, blowers, air-intakes, and chimneys.
Without proper screening, these are doors into your house for any number of things you don’t want, from flies to rodents and birds.
Check your attic insulation and especially the fans, as broken attic fans are typical culprits for allowing birds and other unsightly things into your house. You could end up with squirrels living in that old box of decommissioned 80’s sweaters. Old attic fans are also a notorious electrical fire hazard.
If you have badly installed attic fans and poor attic insulation, all of the money you spend on heating is rising through your house and escaping through the roof.
One tell-tale sign of bad attic insulation is clearly melted sections of an area on a roof during snowy weather – the hot air rises out of the house and melts the snow.
Check your chimneys. These can get clogged or occupied by critters. The decrease in airflow from a chimney to the outside will bring air contaminants into your house that can make your air filtration systems work overtime nights throughout the winter—something nobody wants.
Know your Windows. Windows are not just important for enjoying the view, screening visitors and spying on neighbors. Windows are also supposed to keep cold air out and warm air in (or the other way around, depending on the season).
The first thing you should assess is the age of your windows. If they are old, single-paned windows with basic wood trimming, chances are they offer little to no insulation on their own.
Newer, multi-paned windows are way more suited for insulation. Not only that, with some instruction, you can learn how to add your own weather-stripping and other insulation methods to increase how useful your windows actually are. Some makeshift insulation solutions never hurt anyone who was waiting to have new windows installed in their residence.
Through knowing the problem areas of your house and pinpointing where your insulation weaknesses are, you can not only start saving money, but also start being warmer.
For more information on improving your insulation and getting more efficient appliances in your residence, please call us at 855.788.TEMP. We can be reached in Ocean County at 732.387.3735 or in Monmouth County at 732.584.7421.