During the summer months, it’s wise to take some time and invest some money to prepare your home for the coming winter months. This can avoid the need for emergency works and home repairs in the colder weather. With the current fuel crisis, it might also be wise to think about installing EV chargers in your home and think about making the switch to an electric vehicle incase you can’t get to a fuel station.
Recent winters have been colder than previous years, with heavier snowfall and ice, depending on where you are in the world. It’s essential to be organised and prepare our homes for a drop to colder temperatures. Put in place these handy tips to keep your home happy and working throughout the cold and wet winter weather.
6 Amazing Tips To Prepare Your Home For The Winter Months
Top up your oil supplies
If you live in a more rural area where you rely on oil to keep your house warm, you’ll want to keep your supply well-stocked, just in case you get snowed in. To save on cost, avoid buying oil in the colder months as an increase in demand can sometimes push up prices.
The same goes for gas, and if your home’s heating requires propane you can visit sites like nelsonpropane.com to easily get your stock replenished to ensure you have a consistent and cost-effective source of heating fuel year-round.
Find a time in the warmer months to stock up to avoid your supply from dwindling in the winter months. There are plenty of companies out there, such as emo.ie, who offer premium home heating oil delivery. Remember you can store oil for up to two years so it’s worth stocking up while you can.
Clear out your gutters and downpipes
Over the autumn months, leaves, moss and other natural waste can build up in your drainage systems. If not dealt with, the debris can cause blockages and lead to flooding in bad weather. It’s also worth checking pipes and gutters for any damage or cracks, thus getting repairs done before winter arrives.
If you are not confident with ladders and cleaning your own gutters then a local company can be found by simply searching “Gutter Cleaning [YOUR LOCATION]”, if you are in that area, to come and help finish the job!
Boiler services
It’s an obvious one and incredibly important but often disregarded. Many people forget to regularly service their boiler and just wait for it to break down (usually on the coldest day of the year)! Ideally, your boiler should be serviced annually to keep it safe, efficient and most importantly to prevent it from breaking when it’s needed the most.
Lag your pipes
Remembering to lag your pipes (particularly plastic pipes) will help to reduce heat loss over the winter, protecting your system from damage. Installing foam insulating tubing over the pipes will help prevent pipes from getting too cold and bursting.
Replace damaged or slipped roof tiles
Over the warmer months, take note of any roof repairs which need seeing to before winter arrives. Repairing any roof tiles will help to prevent leaks and therefore damage to the internal structure of your property.
Slipped tiles can easily be replaced and refixed. In some, more complex cases, the lower layers may need to be stripped and replaced. It’s worth investing in the repairs to prevent further and more costly damage.
Insulate your loft space
Investing in modern and high-performing loft insulation will help make your home more efficient, sustainable and keep your home warmer for less money during the cold winter months.
If you haven’t already insulated your loft space, or you have outdated and poor performing insulation, repairing and installing modern insulation will be extremely worthwhile when winter arrives, as well as making your home more environmentally friendly.
It is becoming more and more important to push towards net-zero efforts in your home with the use of solar power, installing EV chargers and even converting your boiler from gas to fully electric as more and more regulations are added in the push to a greener future.
Do you have any other tips for preparing for Winter? We would love to hear them in the comments section below. As always, if you have found this article of any value we would love for you to ‘Pin It’ on Pinterest and share with your friends and family across social media and beyond!
