Yes…it’s December. Can you believe it? Much like December snuck up on us, the cold weather might have also caught you by surprise this year, too. So, let’s kick off the final month of the year with some tips on how to keep your house warmer this winter!

1. Close Your Curtains & Blinds: Close your curtains and blinds at night to provide an extra barrier to radiant heat loss by adding extra insulation and reducing drafts.

2. Open Your Curtains & Blinds: Open your curtains and blinds during the day to let the sun naturally shine in and warm up your home.

3. Cover The Floors: Floors can account for up to 10% of heat loss! If you don’t have rugs on your hardwood floors, now would be a great time to add them.

4. Clean Your Furnace Filter: Most commonly, heating and cooling problems occur because the furnace filter needs to be replaced.

5. Mind Your Fireplace: While lighting a fire is lovely on a cold winter’s night, it’s actually only heating up the area directly in front of the fireplace. As the hot air escapes through the chimney, cold air is being pulled into the house elsewhere through the “stack effect,” which is the law of physics that shows when warm air comes into your home and naturally flows upwards, it sucks in cold air through any gap it can find. So if you light a fire, make sure to put a glass barrier in front of it. Beyond that, make sure to close the chute when not in use.

6. Move Furniture Away From Vents: Are you blocking warm air from getting into your home? Make sure furniture is moved off of vents.

7. Seal Leaks: Think attics and basements, or anywhere cement meets wood.

8. Fans Clockwise: Yes, you can change the direction of your fans! In the winter you want them to spin clockwise which will push heat back down into your home instead of being trapped up in the ceiling.