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Fall Home Preparation: 5 Ways to Keep Your Home Comfortable in the Fall
The temperatures are dropping. Frost covers your lawn. Snow threatens to drop. All signs point to the arrival of fall. But is it time to fire up the furnace? The forecast has temps ranging from the mid-60s to the lower-40s. You want to know if it’s worth turning on your heating system or if you can make it without it to save some money. Even though colder weather is creeping in, there are still several ways you can prepare your home for fall temps without turning on your furnace or needing to run it at full blast. 1. Use Your WindowsEven if they’re already closed for the winter, leaving your window panes unobstructed lets the sun’s rays come into the room and warm up your home. It’s also a good idea to leave your blinds and drapes open during the fall season when you’ll want as much sun as you can get in your home. In addition to keeping your windows clear, feel free to open them during the day when the temperatures are warm. Then, when the sun sets and temperatures start to drop, you can close your windows to keep out the cold.
2. Light the FireplaceMother nature isn’t the only way to prepare your home for fall temperatures. If you have a fireplace, whether it’s wood-burning, gas, or electric, fall is the perfect time to utilize it. Your home’s furnace can output anywhere from 40,000 to over 200,000 BTUs or British Thermal Units — they have serious heating power but in many cases, it’s too much for the fall season. Fireplaces, on the other hand, have a BTU output of 7,000 to 60,000 BTUs meaning their heat is more gentle than booting up your home’s furnace. If you’re feeling the chill in your home, light your fireplace for some comfortable heat that will chase it away.
3. Turn On Your Ceiling FansFans are usually thought of as cooling devices, not heat. But ceiling fans have a special winter setting that can actually help keep your home comfortable during the colder months. This setting simply switches your fans a clockwise rotation (versus counterclockwise.) This move draws cool air up into the ceiling and forces warm air down.
4. Be Mindful of Unused RoomsThe more square footage you have in your home, the more heat you’ll need to warm it up. If you haven’t yet turned on your furnace for the season, keep this in mind and make sure to close off any bedrooms, bathrooms, or dens that aren’t being used. By closing those doors, you’ll help keep the warm air in the areas of your home that you actually use. However, if you did boot up your furnace, you’ll want to do the opposite and open up those doors nice and wide. This allows the warm air the furnace is distributing through your ductwork to disperse into other areas of the home. If you leave those doors shut, the heat will have nowhere else to go, making your unused rooms the hottest ones in the house.
5. Double Check for Leaks and InsulationSo far on this list, we’ve offered ways to generate additional warmth in your home. But what about keeping that warmth inside? To make sure the heat you have stays put and doesn’t escape, take some extra steps this fall to check all of your seals and add insulation or weather stripping where necessary. In fact, sealing air leaks, as well as adding some insulation, can save you up to 10% on your energy bills. Plus, insulating your home’s pipes will help prevent them from freezing overnight. For more ideas on how you can seal up your home and keep the warmth inside, check out our fall maintenance checklist.
Don’t Fire Up the Furnace… YetFall is filled with mild temperatures that don’t always justify booting up the entire heating system. So, use your fireplace, windows, and fans to your advantage to keep your home warm. The methods above allow you to conserve energy and save your furnace for the days when it’s really needed. When fall decides to take a turn and dip into those colder temperatures, go through our fall furnace maintenance checklist before turning on your furnace. Or, schedule an annual fall furnace inspection with us and we’ll make sure your furnace is prepped and ready to go once winter hits. |
The temperatures are dropping. Frost covers your lawn. Snow threatens to drop. All signs point to the arrival of fall.
But is it time to fire up the furnace? The forecast has temps ranging from the mid-60s to the lower-40s. You want to know if it’s worth turning on your heating system or if you can make it without it to save some money.
Even though colder weather is creeping in, there are still several ways you can prepare your home for fall temps without turning on your furnace or needing to run it at full blast.
Even if they’re already closed for the winter, leaving your window panes unobstructed lets the sun’s rays come into the room and warm up your home. It’s also a good idea to leave your blinds and drapes open during the fall season when you’ll want as much sun as you can get in your home.
In addition to keeping your windows clear, feel free to open them during the day when the temperatures are warm. Then, when the sun sets and temperatures start to drop, you can close your windows to keep out the cold.
Mother nature isn’t the only way to prepare your home for fall temperatures. If you have a fireplace, whether it’s wood-burning, gas, or electric, fall is the perfect time to utilize it. Your home’s furnace can output anywhere from 40,000 to over 200,000 BTUs or British Thermal Units — they have serious heating power but in many cases, it’s too much for the fall season.
Fireplaces, on the other hand, have a BTU output of 7,000 to 60,000 BTUs meaning their heat is more gentle than booting up your home’s furnace. If you’re feeling the chill in your home, light your fireplace for some comfortable heat that will chase it away.
Fans are usually thought of as cooling devices, not heat. But ceiling fans have a special winter setting that can actually help keep your home comfortable during the colder months. This setting simply switches your fans a clockwise rotation (versus counterclockwise.) This move draws cool air up into the ceiling and forces warm air down.
The more square footage you have in your home, the more heat you’ll need to warm it up. If you haven’t yet turned on your furnace for the season, keep this in mind and make sure to close off any bedrooms, bathrooms, or dens that aren’t being used. By closing those doors, you’ll help keep the warm air in the areas of your home that you actually use.
However, if you did boot up your furnace, you’ll want to do the opposite and open up those doors nice and wide. This allows the warm air the furnace is distributing through your ductwork to disperse into other areas of the home. If you leave those doors shut, the heat will have nowhere else to go, making your unused rooms the hottest ones in the house.
So far on this list, we’ve offered ways to generate additional warmth in your home. But what about keeping that warmth inside? To make sure the heat you have stays put and doesn’t escape, take some extra steps this fall to check all of your seals and add insulation or weather stripping where necessary. In fact, sealing air leaks, as well as adding some insulation, can save you up to 10% on your energy bills. Plus, insulating your home’s pipes will help prevent them from freezing overnight. For more ideas on how you can seal up your home and keep the warmth inside, check out our fall maintenance checklist.
Fall is filled with mild temperatures that don’t always justify booting up the entire heating system. So, use your fireplace, windows, and fans to your advantage to keep your home warm. The methods above allow you to conserve energy and save your furnace for the days when it’s really needed.
When fall decides to take a turn and dip into those colder temperatures, go through our fall furnace maintenance checklist before turning on your furnace. Or, schedule an annual fall furnace inspection with us and we’ll make sure your furnace is prepped and ready to go once winter hits.
Call: 612-825-6867
