Simple Steps to Keep Your Home Warmer This Winter

Winter Is Coming: How Charlotte Homeowners Can Stay Warm This Winter

BY TRANE

There’s nothing more comforting than stepping into a nice, warm home when it’s frigid outside. For Charlotte homeowners who’ve already checked off their fall maintenance checklist, the focus now shifts to maximizing warmth and efficiency during the unpredictable winter months ahead.

You know how Charlotte winters work — sunny and mild one day, then a surprise ice storm shuts down the city the next. Whether you keep your home toasty with a gas furnace or electric heat such as a heat pump, these four essential tips will help you maintain consistent comfort while managing energy costs throughout the heating season.

Four Ways to Keep Your Charlotte Home Warmer This Winter

Tip #1: Check For Leaks & Gaps

Small gaps around doors and windows can add up to a big chill, making a thorough home inspection an important first step toward warming up your home. Start by double-checking the weather stripping around doors and windows, then break out the caulk gun where needed to seal any compromised areas.

Beyond those usual culprits, however, several additional places warrant investigation that can hinder your ability to keep warm air in and cold air out. Cracks in exterior brickwork represent common trouble spots in Charlotte’s older homes, while gaps around exterior electrical outlets and plumbing can be sealed effectively with weather stripping or caulk.

While you’re in air-tightening mode, verify that your fireplace damper seals correctly when you’re not cozied up in front of it. Also check your kitchen hood, which may be exhausting warm air 24/7, not just when the fan is running — a surprisingly common source of heat loss that many homeowners overlook.

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Tip #2: Call In An Expert

Particularly if you have an older home common throughout Charlotte neighborhoods, lack of insulation can result in significant warm air loss or cause one room to be colder than the others. An insulation expert can identify the proper amount and location for additional insulation to maintain a consistently warm house during winter’s temperature swings.

For an even more comprehensive review, consider scheduling a home energy audit, which can help you identify issues such as leaky HVAC ductwork or thermal bridging in walls. Your local utility company may offer discounted audits specifically for area residents, or visit Energy.gov for additional home energy assessment resources.

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Tip #3: Get Smart with Your Thermostat

Unlike the previous tips, a smart thermostat doesn’t keep warm air in and cold air out — but it can help you feel that way while also saving on energy costs throughout winter. One of the key benefits of using a smart thermostat is the ability to program and customize your heating schedule according to your lifestyle and Charlotte’s notoriously unpredictable weather patterns.

Smart thermostats allow you to set specific house temperature settings for different times of the day. This means you can have a warm and cozy home when you need it, without wasting energy when you don’t — particularly important during mild winter days that can suddenly turn frigid.

Experts recommend a daytime temperature of 68 degrees Fahrenheit when you’re up and around at home, but you can let that drop by 10 degrees or so at night when you’re snuggled in bed, or when you’re away. With a smart thermostat such as the Trane ComfortLink® II XL850, it’s easy to set a daily schedule or to change temperatures from your mobile device and the Trane Home app, giving you complete control whether you’re home or away.

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Tip #4: How Your HVAC System Can Keep Your Home Warmer

A call to your friendly local Trane Comfort Specialist™ for annual maintenance will give you peace of mind at far less than the cost of a new furnace or emergency repair during an ice storm. One of the most common reasons for a winter service call is that “the furnace is not turning on,” making professional attention before severe weather arrives essential.

As a smart practice, turn on your furnace several times before really cold weather hits Charlotte — so if you do need a furnace repair, it’s not an urgent situation when temperatures plummet and service calls spike. Remember, too, that if you have electric heat with a heat pump, that heat pump efficiency decreases as temperatures get to freezing and below. The air coming out of the vents may feel colder than usual, which is normal operation rather than a system malfunction.

In some cases, no matter how good a job you or a professional have done to keep warm air in, your furnace or heat pump may be getting old or simply not up to the task when Charlotte’s weather outside is frightful. If that’s the case for your home, here are a few upgrade options to consider depending on your situation:

To avoid temperature swings — For an energy-efficient way to warm your home evenly during Charlotte’s variable winter conditions, best bets are a gas furnace with multiple heating stages, a variable speed heat pump, or a variable speed dual-fuel hybrid system.
To eliminate specific cold and hot spots — Using thermostats, sensors, and motorized dampers, a zoning system offers accurate temperature control in different areas throughout your house, addressing the uneven heating common in Charlotte’s diverse home styles.
To save energy in a high-efficiency home — For newer homes that require fresh ventilated air, an energy recovery ventilator retains the heat and moisture from the exhaust air before sending it outside, maintaining efficiency even during the coldest winter days.

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Staying Warm All Winter Long

By implementing these four tips before Charlotte’s winter weather arrives, you can ensure consistent comfort and efficiency throughout the heating season. Address any heating concerns now while weather remains manageable and HVAC professionals maintain normal availability, avoiding the rush during ice storms and arctic blasts.

For maximum peace of mind during Charlotte’s unpredictable winter months, combine these DIY weatherization efforts with professional HVAC maintenance and smart technology. This comprehensive approach helps ensure your home remains a warm, comfortable sanctuary no matter what winter weather brings to the Queen City.

For more information about winter heating solutions and HVAC maintenance, visit www.trane.com/residential or contact your local Trane Comfort Specialist™.

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