Tips To Save Money Winterizing An Old Home ||Winters can be very harsh, and to save ourselves from the cold, we must be prepared. Even if you winterized your home long ago, an occasional update is needed to ensure the winterizing process you went through does what it’s supposed to.
If you have not checked on the items you winterized in a long time, it is recommended to do it before the winter season starts. Once the winter season starts and your house is not winterized, then this winter is going to be very difficult for you to survive the cold.
Winterization can sometimes be expensive, but there are different methods you can use which can save you some money, especially if the house you are winterizing is older.
How to winterize an old house? Tips To Save Money
If you live in an old house, you might need winterization because the house may not have all the new amenities and structures used in modern home building. Many techniques used in modern home construction that allowed for better insulation and less drafts were simply unknown when houses were constructed before 1970.
Making some adjustments in some areas and installing some new equipment will make your old house fully-prepared for the winter.
- Lack of insulation can increase your bills. Many old houses mostly do not have insulation, or the insulation they have is thin & outdated. Add insulation to the attic: Heat rises, so a significant amount of heat can escape through an uninsulated attic. Insulating the attic can help reduce heat loss and keep your older home warmer in the winter.
- Because many old houses do not have insulation, this could lead to damaged water lines in the colder months. Better check the water pipes and repair or replace them if needed.
- Walls: Depending on the construction of your old house, the walls may or may not be insulated. If they are not, adding insulation to the walls can help improve energy efficiency and reduce heating and cooling costs.
- Change the old house’s door and windows. Most old houses have single pane windows, which may prevent the rain and snow from entering the house, but it is not strong enough to stop the cold wind. Installing storm windows is the best option to deal with this situation.
- Check if your fireplace has any leaks or if it has been damaged over time, fix the holes or cracks and clean it to keep it ready for the winter. But if you are no longer using the fireplace, closing the chimney is the best idea, as the wind will enter through the chimney.
- Insulating hot water pipes in your older home can help reduce heat loss and improve energy efficiency.
- The basement will probably be the most neglected area, as winter primarily affects the basement area because quite often it is given less importance. Fill any gaps and cracks in the basement; insulate floor trusses between the first floor and the basement ceiling.
- Check the house’s exterior and any gaps or cracks, as it allows cold air to come inside and in turn, make the house cold.
- Make the ceiling fans’ direction clockwise, and it will pull the cold air up and help keep the heat inside.
- Is there an “old heater” in your old house? Consider replacing with a new, energy efficient furnace.
- All the furnaces (old or new) and wood-burning stoves will need an inspection to ensure they are safe, and working as expected.
How to winterize your home in the most eco-friendly way possible and save money
Winterizing the house is not a big deal, with or without the help of a professional. Also, we can winterize our home on a budget. But do any of us care about how eco-friendly this process is?
We can winterize our home without compromise and within a budget without exploiting the environment and still get the best of it by doing the following:
- Using non-toxic antifreeze.
- Green alternatives to traditional insulations, for example, cellulose and spray foam.
- Install a permanent furnace filter, saving waste and keeping the air clean.
- Wrap the windows with plastic or bubble wrap to prevent cold air, thereby using less natural gas or electricity.
- Use dark and thick curtains to keep the house warm.
- Keep the ceiling fans turning clockwise in the winter months, to circulate the warm air that naturally rises.
- Install storm doors and windows. It can potentially save you up to 40% in energy bills.
- Cover the water pipes with a blanket or foam.
- Keep the doors and window closed, and ensure no gaps for the cold winter air to enter your older home (which ofter has more gaps than a newer home).
- A garage which is attached to the house tends to make the whole house cold because of the shared walls. Consider intalling a heating system to the garage as well to keep the entire house warm.
Conclusion|| Tips To Save Money
If you are living in an old house or planning to repair an old one, be sure to consider the winterization of the house. Is it done or not? If not, that is the first thing to do and if it is already done, then make sure you inspect all the elements that go into winterinzing an old house before the winter season.
As it is an old house, there may be many things you need to repair or replace, beyond your winterization concerns. The Still, the your winterizing procedure can be done within a low budget, with the winterizing tips for an old home mentioned above.Tags#Winterizing An Old Home Read More>>
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