Most people about the weather with their friends and family. When the temperature goes lower, you probably reach for some warm clothes and turn up the heating temperature in your home.
Yes, cool weather can influence our health and mood. But, how often do you think of the impacts it can have on your home?
- How The Cooler Weather Can Impact Your Home
Probably, you don’t often think about the changes winter weather can make in your home. Well, low temperatures cause not only higher electricity and natural gas bills. They can also affect your home’s foundation, walls, and other structural elements.
Front door lock
How many times have you had front door lock issues during cold New York winters? Many people had this unpleasant experience. The lock mechanism is the key to this problem.
Moisture from dew, rain or snow easily enters the keyhole. At low winter temperatures this moisture turns into ice and your key can enter the lock.
AC vs. heating
You probably keep your air conditioner on during summer and sometimes during fall. But, when the temperature goes down it can be tricky to decide when to switch to the heating system.
Devices like programmable thermostats can help you solve this puzzle. They will help you keep a constant temperature in your home. By keeping a constant temperature in your house you can also lower your electricity and natural gas bills.
Frozen pipes
Besides other inconveniences, cold weather can be very harmful to your pipes. Water freezes at 32°F and the temperatures often go below this temperature in winter.
As water freezes it puts pressure on the pipes, causing cracks and leakages. Frozen pipes can cause a lot of damage to your home.
- Home Weatherization Tips
Weatherization means taking actions in order to protect buildings from extreme weather conditions. It aims to provide optimal energy efficiency. There are some easy things you can do to weatherize your home.
Clean or replace your heating filters
You should check your heating filters regularly. If they are not clean, your heating system will have to use more energy to work. This leads to energy waste, but it also can bring you higher energy bills.
Install a window film
A window film is a plastic film that you put over the window glass. They can be beneficial if there are any cracks in your old windows. Window films will keep your home warm and save a huge amount of heating energy.
Get a door draft guard
Before the winter months, it is important to check for drafts. It is common for drafts of air to enter from unsealed areas. They cause destruction to your home, and safety issues, depending on how extreme the weather is. Therefore, you should get a draft guard.
Door draft guards can be made of fabric, silicone or wood. You should attach them to the bottom of the door to keep inside as much energy as possible.
- Cold Weather Efficiency Tips
Sometimes, it is not easy to keep your New York home warm and avoid high energy consumption. Yet, there are several useful tips to help you with this.
Control the temperature
The easiest way to keep warm during cold winter days is to set a high temperature on your heating system. Yet, it is not the smartest or energy efficient option. Instead of constantly keeping a high temperature it is much better to be more careful with it.
For instance, if you set a lower temperature by just several degrees, you can save a lot of energy and money. Also, you can save up to 10% of energy on your Con Ed bills by setting a lower temperature before you go to bed.
Use curtains and blinds
Did you know that the curtains can help you improve your home’s energy efficiency? Well, yes! Here’s how.
If you open your curtains during the day, you will let the sunlight in and it will heat your home naturally and for free. Yet, don’t forget to close them when the sun goes down. Closed curtains will keep cold chills away from your home and save you a lot of money and electricity.
Get LED lights for your decorations this Christmas
LED lights are generally a smart idea for your home. They last longer and use up to 75% less electricity than the traditional ones.
So, if you are planning on using the light decorations get LED lights. They are eco-friendly, very durable and energy efficient. Why don’t you give yourself a Christmas gift before the Christmas Eve?
Final thoughts
As you can see, saving energy can be really easy. Moreover, you can use some of these tips to save some energy and money all year long.
