No one wants to worry about a failing heater during the holidays. That’s a time when families and friends get together, the focus is on social connections, entertainment, memories and relaxing. Dealing with a struggling heater or home temperature problem can make a fun experience a real negative memory. Add in a whole bunch of activities that can swing the room temperature quick, and home heating can become a bit of an ongoing hassle. Here are some holiday home heating tips that make things easier.
Lower The Heating With A Crowd
About a half hour after people arrive, lower the home heating level. Generally, people are giving off body heat, and lots of people in a room are going to raise the temperature naturally. By lowering the temperature of your HVAC or heater, you compensate for their increase in the room. This will keep things comfortable and reduce stuffiness. If it gets really bad, open a window partially for a few minutes. The cold air outside will quickly reduce the overall temperature inside as the excess heat escapes.
Stay On Top Of Maintenance
In between holidays and before a big event, have a maintenance check done on your heating system. If there is a problem, it can likely be addressed before a crowd shows up, and the heater fails or starts acting up. Many times, a maintenance check can find small issues and address them on the spot, which avoids the same turning into a big concern at the worst possible moment.
Swap Out The Air Filter Monthly
While monthly might seem frequent, the air filter catches all the contaminants that are created from outside air mix as well as indoors. Those same particulates build up and create hot spots in equipment if left unchecked. The filter blocks them, but it’s only effective when clean. A dirty filter fails repeatedly, and contaminants get through.
Filters are low cost, easy to replace by a homeowner, and contribute directly to the health of a furnace or HVAC. On the outside, three months is the longest they should go not replaced, but in the winter dry air dust can kick up a lot more. Additionally, filters help catch allergens that people with sensitive breathing issues will react to otherwise. So, again, frequent filter changouts are a good thing.
Room Ceiling Fans Should Be Active
While people frequently think ceiling fans are only for summer and hot days, they work just as well in the winter. The fan direction just needs to be reversed to push the hot air down instead of pulling cool air up. Doing so moves warm air that gets stuck in the ceiling downward again to where people are. Fans are simple, easy to work, and very effective at moving room air quickly, depending on their speed.
Let The Sun Do The Work
If your home gets a lot of sunlight during the day, open those window drapes and let the light in. Strong sun can easily warm up a room in a matter of minutes, especially on a bright day. When the sun goes down, close the drapes, and the warmth stays put longer. This saves energy, money with less heater use, and the temperature is far more natural in the room.
Don’t Close Your Home Room Vents
For your home heating or HVAC to work well, the vents in different rooms need to be open. Many oftentimes close off vents in rooms they don’t regularly use, thinking it saves on heating. Unfortunately, because those rooms are part of the same home, they draw heat in, making the system work harder. HVAC is designed as a whole environment system. So, with all vents open, the home heats up and keeps a temperature constant from room to room. This reduces system strain overall as well.
Holidays Should Be Fun, Not A Crisis
Remember, a lot of what makes a good holiday event work for a home party or getogether is planning. Have all the food ready, anticipate a few other needs, and do HVAC or heater maintenance early to catch problems before they get big. You will enjoy your winter fun a lot more, and the risk of a big event failure will be minimized, especially on cold nights.
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