Heating Tips For Cold Chicago Winter Days

We’ve collected heating tips for customers from our daily interactions and maintenance calls.   This has been a typical winter so far for areas throughout Chicago, Naperville, Bolingbrook and beyond.  It’s going to be some time before we see the warmth of spring.

1. Take care of those drafts. A good way to check for a draft is to use a candle, light piece of string or even an incense stick! On a windy day, hold these items up around windows, doors and other areas and if the smoke or string moves or the flame goes out, you’ve found a draft. Weather-stripping or caulk can go along way to sealing up those spaces. Also helpful are those draft snakes which sit on sills or at doorways to block cold incoming air.
2. Most ceiling fans are built with a reverse setting and this is perfect for the winter. When you heat your home, the heat rises and reversing your fan blades to rotate clockwise allows you to draw that heat back down and help keep it from going through the roof or walls. Contact our sister company for assistance with Ceiling Fan Installation.
3. Add some insulation this winter with rugs and curtains. Beyond being decorative, using area rugs in high traffic areas (especially if you have hardwood or tile floors) will keep your floors warmer and add some additional insulation. The same is true of curtains. Heavier materials can help .  block drafts and even insulate over cold panes of glass!
4. For supplemental heat, use a wood burning stove over a gas fireplace. Wood-burning stoves and even wood-burning fireplaces give off more heat than a gas fireplace and can burn scrap wood. We do, however, suggest a wood burning stove over a generic fireplace. Fireplaces lack that air flow controls and efficiency of a wood burning stove. As a result, wood Burning stoves are far more efficient.
5. Watch those exhaust fans! Kitchen and bathroom exhaust fans have their place, but running one fan for an hour can deplete your home of warm air. Leave them off or only run them for short periods of time.

Most importantly, pay attention to your home. Your heating and HVAC efficiency will be best managed with regular inspections and maintenance. These are only a few heating tips to help with your home furnace. Contact us for more.