Preparing Your Home For A Major Winter Storm

A winter storm can represent a major challenge when it concerns keeping your home warm and comfortable. While a modern heating system that is functioning correctly should be able to keep your home warm during these times, there are still some additional steps that may be needed in order to prepare your home for this type of weather event.

Add Plastic Insulation To Your Windows

Adding plastic insulation to your windows is an upgrade that you may not fully appreciate until there is a strong winter weather event occurring. Plastic insulation is able to reduce the amount of cold air that enters the home through drafts around the window frame or through the glass itself. This will help to reduce the amount of strain that is placed on your heating system, which can help to reduce the additional energy expenses that you will have to pay to warm the house during the storm. These window insulation systems are easy to install and simple to remove, which makes using them an easy step to take when extremely cold weather is coming your way.

Test Your Emergency Heat System

Many HVAC systems have an emergency heating unit that is designed to help provide supplementary heat when the primary heating system is being overwhelmed or is malfunctioning. Prior to the winter storm arriving in your area, you may want to spend a few minutes testing your emergency heat to make sure that it is working as intended. Unfortunately, these components can often be prone to malfunctioning, which can prevent them from activating when your home is experiencing particularly frigid temperatures, so you will want to make sure that they system is working before a major storm rolls in.

Keep Your Furnace's Vent Free Of Snow And Ice

A threat that your heating system may face during a storm is the exterior vent becoming clogged by snow or ice. This may prevent the furnace or boiler from being able to effectively vent the fumes that it produces. This could lead to the interior of the home filling with dangerous gases that could pose major health threats. During the storm and immediately after, you should check your heating system's exterior vent multiple times to make sure that it is free of potential clogs that could stop the system from being able to effectively vent hazardous fumes. While homeowners may assume that the warm air from this vent will prevent it from icing over, this can still be a threat during periods of extremely heavy winter precipitation or during periods when your heating system is not active.

Contact a company that offers heating services to learn more.