As the temperature gets low outside in the greater Sacramento area (& especially in El Dorado Hills!), most locals are doing whatever they can to make sure that the temperature inside their house stays warm and cozy.
Winterizing your home is an extremely important part of ensuring it’s comfort in these chilly months.
However, even if you’ve already taken precautions, there could still be three simple solutions that you have accidentally overlooked.
Keep Warm At Home! Here are 3 Extra Layers of Ways To Winterize Your House or Building For The Worry-Free Heating Solutions
These solutions can not only have a huge impact on your home’s performance, but they are also quick to implement, cheap to install, and have the potential to make your home much more comfortable all season long.
What are these solutions, you ask? California Energy Services has the answer!
1. Insulate Your Attic Hatch or Pull-Down Stairs
The hatch or pull-down stairs that allow you to access your attic could be costing a good deal of money and comfort. On average, a majority of the energy that escapes your home escapes through the attic.
This means that even the smallest uninsulated parts of your attic can allow huge amounts of warmth to escape.
This can ultimately cost you both money, comfort, and energy efficiency, problems that an insulated hatch or stairs could drastically reduce.
2. Fix Those Pesky Kneewalls
Kneewalls are a common vertical structure found in attics, and other conditional spaces, surrounded by vaulted ceilings.
However, while kneewalls are found in most homes, they are often the weakest part of a building’s enclosure.
This is because they are the only housing structure with “exterior wall” insulation that is not enclosed between your home’s sheetrock and exterior siding.
The fact that kneewalls are not enclosed between these two structures means that the limited insulation cannot block heat loss as effectively as the insulation in other locations.
In addition to this, kneewall insulation is often damaged or installed incorrectly, making the insulation even more ineffective. So how can you properly insulate these structures?
The best way to deal with these issues is to seal the structure with additional insulation first, and then install a rigid sheathing on the attic side of the wall.
This will protect the exposed insulation from outside forces while allowing it to do its job and prevent heat loss in your home.
Thus, you can turn one of your home’s largest sources of energy loss into a source of energy preservation.
3. Reseal Disconnected Ducts
Disconnected ductwork can put a real damper on your home’s comfort, and can actually reduce the amount of heat that reaches your home.
When ducts become disconnected, the heated air that would otherwise end up in your living spaces often leaks out into uninhabited areas of your house (such as your basement, attic, or crawlspaces).
If left unfixed, these leaks can lead to a massive amount of energy loss and discomfort.
These particular problems can only be solved by properly re-connecting the ducts.
This process is so easy that it can often be done with one roll of specialty “temperature-rated” duct tape, which is available in most hardware stores.
While the solutions to these problems may seem incredibly simple, the benefits are not.
These simple solutions are long-lasting and can save you a significant amount of money on your monthly heating bill. Also, you don’t have to put these projects on hold just because winter’s almost halfway over.
In addition to providing comfort in the winter, these types of solutions can also provide relief in the summer. By separating the outside areas from the inside as much as possible, you can ensure that your home is comfortable no matter the season.
So what are you waiting for? Take advantage of these solutions, and many others, by contacting California Energy Services today.
