There are many great things about living in the mountains. You can be away from any neighbors except for the deer and elk. You can enjoy delightful views. Plus, you can be close to all your favorite outdoor activities: skiing and snowshoeing in the winter, hiking and biking in the summer.
What is less great about living in the mountains is how hard it can be to keep your mountain home warm. Here are some tips to help you keep cozy all winter long in your mountain home.
Check the Insulation and Seal
It’s important to make sure your mountain home is well-sealed. When the wind whips across the mountains, it will find all the tiny cracks in the house and tear right through. Check all the windows to make sure they seal properly. Also, make sure your house has a robust air barrier, that the walls are well-sealed against the wind.
It’s also important to make sure your mountain home has adequate insulation for the area. Many mountain homes were originally built as summer homes, not for year-round habitation. If that’s the case for your mountain home, investigate how you might improve the insulation.
Use Your Curtains
Windows can lead to significant heat loss, but you can reduce the amount of heat lost by having good insulating curtains. Make sure they go all the way to the floor and effectively hold cold air against the window.
Make your curtains even more effective by opening them during the day on the sunny side of the house. The sunlight will create a significant amount of heat in the home, allowing you to effectively heat the house in the day while putting less demand on your furnace. Then remember to close your curtains at night to make sure you’re not letting too much heat escape.
Get Regular Furnace Maintenance
Hopefully, the furnace in your mountain home is rated to handle heating the building during expected weather conditions. However, even a properly rated furnace system won’t keep performing to spec if it’s not maintained regularly. Without regular furnace maintenance, furnace efficiency can decline every year. This is especially true of a furnace that is used for as much of the year as they are likely to be in a mountain home.
Make sure you get professional furnace maintenance every year. In addition, follow the recommendations of the manufacturer, and/or your service person about maintenance steps you should perform on your own, such as changing the furnace filter.
Enclose the Crawl Space
If your mountain home is using some form of central heat, whether it’s forced air or radiator heat, furnace efficiency will decline if you have significant heat loss as heated water or air travels from the furnace to the rest of the house.
One way to reduce the heat loss and improve furnace efficiency is to make sure that heat is always traveling through conditioned space. If your vents or pipes pass through an unconditioned crawl space, for example, you might improve the effectiveness of your furnace by enclosing the crawl space.
Have a Secondary Heat Source
Another way to keep warm during the winter months in the mountains is to have a secondary heat source. A common choice is a wood-burning stove. A wood-burning stove can utilize the plentiful supply of wood around your mountain home to help maintain a comfortable temperature all winter long.
Another benefit of a secondary heat source is that it can serve as an emergency backup in case your primary heat source fails during the winter if there’s a power failure or if you can’t get your regular delivery of propane or fuel oil.
Upgrade Your Furnace
If you’re still not getting the level of comfort you want in your mountain home, maybe it’s time to consider upgrading the furnace. As we mentioned before, many mountain homes weren’t built as year-round homes. If your house was built mostly as a summer home, its furnace might not actually be adequate to keep you warm all winter long.
When the technician comes out to service your furnace, get their opinion on the power of your current furnace. If they don’t think it’s adequate to heat your home during the severe mountain winter, it might be time to replace your furnace.
Get Help from Colorado’s Mountain Heating Experts
Since 1970, Major Heating and Air Conditioning has been helping Coloradans enjoy perfect comfort at all altitudes. This includes helping many people equip their mountain home with the best heating solution to get them through long, cold winters.
Major Heating and Air Conditioning has lasted as long as we have because we believe in doing the job right every time. This has helped us maintain an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau since 1983. We offer 24-hour emergency service because we know how critical it is to get your heat back when it goes out.
To help you find the right heating solution for your mountain home, we offer free estimates on new equipment.
To talk to us about keeping comfortable in your mountain home this winter, please contact Major Heating and Air Conditioning today.
