When you go home after a day on the bone-chilling tundra, your igloo ought to be toasty. If you are selling your house, you want the buyer to feel toasty upon entrance as well…here are some tips from Gray Buffington, President of Buffington Mortgage who, with 20 years experience, knows quite a few tips in all areas of the industry…regardless of what Pungstakatawny Phil says, after this last week of icy days, it’s beginning to look like a long winter may be ahead:

Seal duct leaks. The typical duct system loses 25 to 40 percent of the energy put out by the central furnace, heat pump or air conditioner. That puts a strain on your wallet as well as comfort levels in your home. Heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) contractors can diagnose and pinpoint duct leak locations and check the static pressure in your ducts and ventilation system. The exam is often part of an energy audit used to also examine insulation, air leaks and other energy inefficiencies in your home.

Consider a new furnace or HVAC system. Newer more efficient systems coupled with sealed ducts, better home insulation, weatherized windows and doors, programmable thermostats and other steps to tighten your home, can remove uneven heating and cooling patterns and cost less to operate. Don’t assume you need a larger unit. A new unit and overhauled duct and ventilation system may shock your budget over the short term but provide a payback in energy cost savings over the long run.

Don’t neglect maintenance on your furnace or HVAC. Get a checkup of your heating system to make sure it’s performing efficiently and safely. Clean or replace your system’s air filter regularly as instructed by your manual.

Insulate to the max. Missing insulation can also cause discomforting cold spots in your home. Especially add insulation in attics, rooms adjacent to attics, and next to or over garages. Your contractor can perform an infra-red camera scan to find cold spots and inspect insulation levels. Hollow wall cavities behind sheet rock also need internal attention. Forget external insulation.

Manually close off rooms, closets and shut doors to unused spaces or consider installing a controlled damper system that is tied to thermostats and automatically open and close as needed.

Still wake up with blue limbs? Call us…we’ll get you into something new, insulated and toasty at a very fair rate! (67204729)