When winter’s chill arrives, you want your home to be cozy and warm. Certain practices around the house can keep you toasty, while others can give you the shivers. Here’s what you need to know about your home heating system.
A home heating system should keep the cold air outside.
Keeping outside air from infiltrating the indoors is crucial so your heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system isn’t constantly fighting back the outdoors. Keep these tips in mind:
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- Your attic insulation should be at least R-38, the median for any climate, and closer to R-60 for colder areas of the country.
- On a cold day outside, run your hand along the edges of windows inside to see if cold air penetrates. If so, reinforce caulk around the outside edges of windows. Check the weather stripping seal at the bottom of the sash and replace it if worn.
- Check the edges of doors to the outside with your hand. Replace the weather stripping around the door frame and the bottom as needed.
- If your home is on a pier-and-beam foundation, do you have insulation between the floor joists under the house? This prevents hard surface floors from giving you cold feet.
Best HVAC practices
Keeping your HVAC system operating optimally is essential to indoor air quality.
- Keep return air filters cleaned or changed once per month.
- Invest in a smart thermostat and learn how to use it for the most efficient air handling.
- Operate ceiling fans in a clockwise direction to create an updraft that will push warm air down from the ceiling. Conversely, in summer, running the fan in a counter-clockwise manner creates a cooling downdraft.
Personal practices
- Heating your home reduces indoor humidity, which can dry out your nasal passages and chap your skin. To replace the moisture, run a hot shower for a few minutes and let the steam escape the bathroom into the house. You can also use a humidifier.
- Cover windows with heavier drapes in winter or insulated window shades.
- Wear layered clothing, mainly made of wool, so you do not have to depend solely on your HVAC.
- Use area rugs on hard surface floors.
- Fireplaces draw vast quantities of indoor air right up the chimney. Use a glass fireplace screen to get the warmth of a fire without the unintended heat loss.
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