With a big storm growing out west and headed toward the east coast, with the threat of heavy snow and ice, we want to wish you and your family a happy and safe Thanksgiving, especially if you’re hitting the road over the holiday weekend.
While it looks like the Indianapolis area may avoid the worst of it, it does remind us that winter is rapidly approaching. That means it’s time to prepare yourself, your family, and your home, for the cold weather to come.
When it comes to your home, there are two steps you can take to prepare it for the upcoming winter season, as well as for many winters to come:
- Weatherization, which helps make your home’s interior environment as comfortable and resistant to outside elements as possible, improve energy efficiency, and lower your heating (and cooling) bills.
- Annual preventative maintenance, which will help ensure that your home’s heating systems works properly and efficiently throughout the winter.
Weatherization: Excellent Return on Your Investment Dollars
Currently, weatherization returns $2.73 for every $1 invested in the program. A weatherized home can save the average household up to $350 a year, and reduce space heating costs by 32%.
For homeowners on a tight budget, assistance programs are available to help with the cost to weatherize your home. Indiana’s Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) enables low-income families to permanently reduce their energy bills by making their homes more energy-efficient.
Additionally, weatherization provides long-term solutions to energy and non-energy issues for low-income households. Challenges such as unsafe combustion systems or mold and moisture problems are addressed during the weatherization process when necessary.
Read our post “Weatherize Your Indianapolis Home to Improve Energy Efficiency” for more information and tips on how to improve your home’s comfort level and reduce your energy costs.
Preventative Maintenance: Make the Most of Your Investment Dollars
To paraphrase Benjamin Franklin, an ounce of preventative maintenance is worth a pound of repairs.
The first thing you should do, if you haven’t already, is change your air filter! As John Traub, our company president, has been known to say, “If everyone just changed their filters, I would be out of business.”
Next, you should schedule an appointment to have your furnace checked and tuned up in time for winter weather. According to PATH, a Public – Private Partnership for Advancing Housing Technology, you should “Get your furnace checked and tuned up by professionals. Keeping your heating system at its optimum efficiency could save you hundreds of dollars on heating costs.”
Read “Prepare Your Indianapolis Home for the Coming Winter” for more information about the benefits of annual preventative maintenance.
We currently have appointments available to perform comprehensive maintenance checks of your furnace, boiler, heat pump and ventilation system. To schedule your appointment, call Thiele Heating & Air Conditioning, Indy’s oldest heating & cooling company, at (317) 943-8579. For more information, visit our website, www.CallThiele.com.