Will Your Home Be a Comfortable Temperature for the Holidays?

The holidays will be here soon. At this time of year, many people receive guests and spend time with loved ones. Keeping your home a comfortable temperature can help make the holidays a more enjoyable experience. Weather stripping, insulating your ducts, and performing other types of HVAC maintenance can help make your holidays a success.

Have You Installed Weather Stripping?

Weather stripping helps keep cold air out and warm air in. By insulating your home and preventing air leaks at windows and doors, weather stripping can reduce the burden on your home’s HVAC system.

If you haven’t already installed weather stripping on your home, now is the time to do so to keep your home warm. To find out where your home needs weather stripping the most, wander through your home and feel for drafts and cold spots. Once you’ve identified problem areas, you’ll know where to focus your energy and attention during your weather stripping project.

Are Your Ducts Sealed and Insulated?

Your home’s ducts may travel up into the attic or down through the basement or crawl space. When warm air leaks out of the ducts, this can heat parts of the home that don’t need to be heated. This reduces the amount of warm air that enters your home and ultimately forces your furnace to work harder than necessary to keep up with demand.

Sealing and insulating your home’s ducts is a good way to ensure that this doesn’t happen. A professional can seal and insulate the ducts in a few hours or a day, depending on the size of your house. To ensure that you have enough time to get this done before the holidays, schedule a time with your HVAC contractor well in advance.

If you’re not sure whether or not your home’s ducts need to be sealed and insulated, inspect them from your attic, crawl space, or basement. Do you see cracks? Do you feel drafts when the furnace is running? Are the ducts bare, lacking padded insulation? If the answer to these questions is yes, then it’s time to contact a professional.

Do You Have a Modern Thermostat?

Old thermostats may be hard or impossible to program, which makes them harder to use and less energy efficient. A modern thermostat makes warming your home for your holiday guests easier.

Modern thermostats enable you to decide in advance what temperature your home should be at various times of the day. A smart thermostat can even learn your habits, track your movements, and turn on your furnace before you even walk in the house.

To install a modern thermostat, talk to your HVAC contractor. He or she can discuss a price quote and talk to you about the best thermostat for your needs.

Have You Replaced Your Home’s Air Filter Recently?

The air filter for your HVAC system helps clean the air that flows through your ducts. This helps keep your furnace efficient and prevents buildup from causing problems with your system. A dirty air filter is harder to push air through, so a clean air filter can help your furnace work more quickly.

The US ENERGY STAR program recommends changing your air filter every three months. If you’re not sure when you last replaced your air filter, check it to see if it’s dirty. If it is dirty, replace it with a fresh filter before guests arrive.

Have You Opened All The Vents In Your Home?

You may have closed the vents in lesser-used parts of your home (like the guest bedroom). Uneven heating can make parts of your home cold and other parts too warm. Open vents can help ensure that your home is more evenly heated and your guests will be comfortable in all parts of your house.

If opening the vents doesn’t help regulate the temperature of your house, talk to an HVAC professional about insulation. He or she may need to check your system and your home’s insulation to ensure and make recommendations for repair.

Has Your Furnace Been Serviced Recently?

The last thing you need is for your furnace to break down while there are guests on your property. The best way to ensure that your home will be warm and comfortable for your friends and relatives is to have your furnace serviced by a professional before your guests arrive.

Even if it’s not currently broken, your HVAC contractor can give your system a tune-up and make recommendations for upgrades or repair. Having this done now can prevent breakdowns later in the year.

Have More Questions? Contact Us!

Do you have more questions about how you can make your home a more comfortable temperature for your holiday guests? If so, contact C.B. Lucas. We’re happy to answer your questions and help you stay comfortable during the holidays and throughout the cold winter season.