{"id":3260,"date":"2012-10-02T17:26:01","date_gmt":"2012-10-02T21:26:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/blog\/winterizing-home-surprising-best-practices\/"},"modified":"2025-02-05T13:14:01","modified_gmt":"2025-02-05T17:14:01","slug":"winterizing-home-surprising-best-practices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/blog\/winterizing-home-surprising-best-practices\/","title":{"rendered":"Winterizing Your Home \u2013 Some Surprising Best Practices"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Home<\/p>\n

Summer just yielded to fall and we\u2019re thinking about winterizing already? With rising energy prices, it\u2019s never too soon to consider ways to\u00a0reduce energy costs\u00a0and improve home comfort.<\/p>\n

Here are some little-known but potential high-impact ways to\u00a0prepare for winter\u00a0that will help you save (in more ways than one!).<\/p>\n

Purchase a Back-Up Generator<\/h3>\n

We listed this first because it\u2019s probably last on your mind\u2026and most important if something happens. Last winter was mild. But the fall wasn\u2019t Remember the rain that never ended? How many Central Pennsylvania families were caught without power? A back-up generator provides peace of mind and power to help you weather ice storms, lengthy power outages and unforeseen emergencies.<\/p>\n

Back-up generator costs can vary greatly depending on Kw capacity and installation circumstances.\u00a0 A \u2018typical\u2019 10Kw Generac generator installed cost ranges from $6,500 to $8,000. They are best installed by a\u00a0certified professional\u00a0who can help assess your needs and provide the best fit. A back-up generator that will really protect you in a power outage is designed to meet your specific needs and is installed by a professional who can safely handle the wiring and connect the generator to your power source (typically natural gas or propane).<\/p>\n

H.B. will ask you what you must have operational and what you desire to have operational. This is a key part of the process to determine the size of the generator you truly need. Critical items are usually functions such as refrigerators, well pumps, heating, crucial light circuits, garage door opener units. Some folks consider their aquarium as well. Central air units can be included and so can your water heater. It\u2019s important to know that the more high-draw electrical functions that are included, the larger the unit that is required (and the more expensive to purchase and install). That\u2019s just one reason you should work with an experienced, certified installer \u2014 to make sure you get the unit you truly need.<\/p>\n

Once installed, your generator will run one time per week for 15 minutes. When needed, you\u2019ll experience an automatic transfer but it\u2019s important to know that there is a 2 second lag when power drops (clocks will reset and computer work may be lost). Otherwise, you\u2019ll be covered!<\/p>\n

Call HB Home Service Team for a professional evaluation (232-4328). Let us help you identify what is essential to your comfort and safety.<\/p>\n

Have your Duct Work Cleaned<\/a><\/h3>\n

Dirty duct work increases utility costs by up to 15% (by reducing system efficiency)\u00a0and\u00a0contributes to skin irritation, colds and much more during the dry winter months. Having your duct work cleaned is a winterizing best practice with lasting benefit \u2013 one cleaning every 8 to 10 years should do the trick!<\/p>\n

You do have to be wary when selecting a duct cleaning partner (we hate to say this but it\u2019s true). Lots of companies do a great job. But low-cost entry packages often don\u2019t get to the root of the problem.\u00a0See the H.B. team in action<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Plumbing Inspection<\/h3>\n

Most people cover outdoor water spouts and wrap exposed pipes. But sometimes that isn\u2019t enough to prevent burst pipes or other\u00a0plumbing emergencies\u00a0<\/a>that create enormous costs and headaches!<\/p>\n

A winterizing plumbing inspection should also include maintenance on any electric or gas fired water heater, inspection for leads and corrosion, inspection for proper faucet and valve drainage and much more.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t forget to cover the basics in addition to considering these new (but high-value) ideas! Fix cracks in windows, seal doors properly, install a Programmable Thermostat, make sure your insulation is up to code and much more. Here\u2019s to a warm and toasty winter!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summer just yielded to fall and we\u2019re thinking about winterizing already? With rising energy prices, it\u2019s never too soon to consider ways to\u00a0reduce energy costs\u00a0and improve home comfort. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":4282,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[73,111,43,38],"tags":[112,53,113,114,115,116],"class_list":["post-3260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-green-energy-friendly-solutions","category-home-comfort-services","category-plumbing-residential","category-residential","tag-back-up-generator","tag-duct-cleaning","tag-hb-mcclure-company","tag-plumbing-emergency","tag-plumbing-inspection","tag-winterizing-your-home"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBest Practices for Winterizing Your Home | HB Home Service Team<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Here are some little-known but potential high-impact ways to\u00a0prepare for winter\u00a0that will help you save (in more ways than one!).\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/blog\/winterizing-home-surprising-best-practices\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Best Practices for Winterizing Your Home | HB Home Service Team\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Here are some little-known but potential high-impact ways to\u00a0prepare for winter\u00a0that will help you save (in more ways than one!).\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/blog\/winterizing-home-surprising-best-practices\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"HB Home Service Team\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-10-02T21:26:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-02-05T17:14:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/winterize.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"650\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"380\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"1SEO\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1SEO\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hbmcclure.com\\\/hbhome\\\/blog\\\/winterizing-home-surprising-best-practices\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hbmcclure.com\\\/hbhome\\\/blog\\\/winterizing-home-surprising-best-practices\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"1SEO\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hbmcclure.com\\\/hbhome\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/723f00e6b8e0a651813a948dbac019e0\"},\"headline\":\"Winterizing Your Home \u2013 Some Surprising Best Practices\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-10-02T21:26:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-02-05T17:14:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hbmcclure.com\\\/hbhome\\\/blog\\\/winterizing-home-surprising-best-practices\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":622,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hbmcclure.com\\\/hbhome\\\/blog\\\/winterizing-home-surprising-best-practices\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hbmcclure.com\\\/hbhome\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/winterize.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"back up generator\",\"duct cleaning\",\"HB Home Service Team Company\",\"plumbing emergency\",\"plumbing inspection\",\"winterizing your home\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Green\\\/Energy Friendly Solutions\",\"Home Comfort Services\",\"Plumbing - Residential\",\"Residential\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/hbmcclure.com\\\/hbhome\\\/blog\\\/winterizing-home-surprising-best-practices\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hbmcclure.com\\\/hbhome\\\/blog\\\/winterizing-home-surprising-best-practices\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hbmcclure.com\\\/hbhome\\\/blog\\\/winterizing-home-surprising-best-practices\\\/\",\"name\":\"Best Practices for Winterizing Your Home | HB Home Service Team\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hbmcclure.com\\\/hbhome\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hbmcclure.com\\\/hbhome\\\/blog\\\/winterizing-home-surprising-best-practices\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hbmcclure.com\\\/hbhome\\\/blog\\\/winterizing-home-surprising-best-practices\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hbmcclure.com\\\/hbhome\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/winterize.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-10-02T21:26:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-02-05T17:14:01+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hbmcclure.com\\\/hbhome\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/723f00e6b8e0a651813a948dbac019e0\"},\"description\":\"Here are some little-known but potential high-impact ways to\u00a0prepare for winter\u00a0that will help you save (in more ways than one!).\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hbmcclure.com\\\/hbhome\\\/blog\\\/winterizing-home-surprising-best-practices\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/hbmcclure.com\\\/hbhome\\\/blog\\\/winterizing-home-surprising-best-practices\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hbmcclure.com\\\/hbhome\\\/blog\\\/winterizing-home-surprising-best-practices\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hbmcclure.com\\\/hbhome\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/winterize.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hbmcclure.com\\\/hbhome\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/winterize.jpg\",\"width\":650,\"height\":380,\"caption\":\"Home Comfort Services - Winterizing Your Home\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hbmcclure.com\\\/hbhome\\\/blog\\\/winterizing-home-surprising-best-practices\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hbmcclure.com\\\/hbhome\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Winterizing Your Home \u2013 Some Surprising Best Practices\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hbmcclure.com\\\/hbhome\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hbmcclure.com\\\/hbhome\\\/\",\"name\":\"HB Home Service Team\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hbmcclure.com\\\/hbhome\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hbmcclure.com\\\/hbhome\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/723f00e6b8e0a651813a948dbac019e0\",\"name\":\"1SEO\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8b83067303fe74fd6041ee88f34c4f18d319f5809e03419b34512bdbffc7fcc0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8b83067303fe74fd6041ee88f34c4f18d319f5809e03419b34512bdbffc7fcc0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8b83067303fe74fd6041ee88f34c4f18d319f5809e03419b34512bdbffc7fcc0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"1SEO\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hbmcclure.com\\\/hbhome\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/1seo\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Best Practices for Winterizing Your Home | HB Home Service Team","description":"Here are some little-known but potential high-impact ways to\u00a0prepare for winter\u00a0that will help you save (in more ways than one!).","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/blog\/winterizing-home-surprising-best-practices\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Best Practices for Winterizing Your Home | HB Home Service Team","og_description":"Here are some little-known but potential high-impact ways to\u00a0prepare for winter\u00a0that will help you save (in more ways than one!).","og_url":"https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/blog\/winterizing-home-surprising-best-practices\/","og_site_name":"HB Home Service Team","article_published_time":"2012-10-02T21:26:01+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-02-05T17:14:01+00:00","og_image":[{"width":650,"height":380,"url":"https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/winterize.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"1SEO","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"1SEO","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/blog\/winterizing-home-surprising-best-practices\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/blog\/winterizing-home-surprising-best-practices\/"},"author":{"name":"1SEO","@id":"https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/#\/schema\/person\/723f00e6b8e0a651813a948dbac019e0"},"headline":"Winterizing Your Home \u2013 Some Surprising Best Practices","datePublished":"2012-10-02T21:26:01+00:00","dateModified":"2025-02-05T17:14:01+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/blog\/winterizing-home-surprising-best-practices\/"},"wordCount":622,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/blog\/winterizing-home-surprising-best-practices\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/winterize.jpg","keywords":["back up generator","duct cleaning","HB Home Service Team Company","plumbing emergency","plumbing inspection","winterizing your home"],"articleSection":["Green\/Energy Friendly Solutions","Home Comfort Services","Plumbing - Residential","Residential"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/blog\/winterizing-home-surprising-best-practices\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/blog\/winterizing-home-surprising-best-practices\/","url":"https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/blog\/winterizing-home-surprising-best-practices\/","name":"Best Practices for Winterizing Your Home | HB Home Service Team","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/blog\/winterizing-home-surprising-best-practices\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/blog\/winterizing-home-surprising-best-practices\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/winterize.jpg","datePublished":"2012-10-02T21:26:01+00:00","dateModified":"2025-02-05T17:14:01+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/#\/schema\/person\/723f00e6b8e0a651813a948dbac019e0"},"description":"Here are some little-known but potential high-impact ways to\u00a0prepare for winter\u00a0that will help you save (in more ways than one!).","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/blog\/winterizing-home-surprising-best-practices\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/blog\/winterizing-home-surprising-best-practices\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/blog\/winterizing-home-surprising-best-practices\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/winterize.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/winterize.jpg","width":650,"height":380,"caption":"Home Comfort Services - Winterizing Your Home"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/blog\/winterizing-home-surprising-best-practices\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Winterizing Your Home \u2013 Some Surprising Best Practices"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/#website","url":"https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/","name":"HB Home Service Team","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/#\/schema\/person\/723f00e6b8e0a651813a948dbac019e0","name":"1SEO","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8b83067303fe74fd6041ee88f34c4f18d319f5809e03419b34512bdbffc7fcc0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8b83067303fe74fd6041ee88f34c4f18d319f5809e03419b34512bdbffc7fcc0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8b83067303fe74fd6041ee88f34c4f18d319f5809e03419b34512bdbffc7fcc0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"1SEO"},"url":"https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/blog\/author\/1seo\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3260"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3260\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8038,"href":"https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3260\/revisions\/8038"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hbmcclure.com\/hbhome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}