How to Prepare Your Home for Winter Electrically – Part 1
Getting your home ready electrically before winter arrives will help ensure you have power and stay safe during the colder months. An HVAC system is energy intensive, and your home’s electrical system will need to function efficiently to keep you and your family warm and comfortable during winter. The following will cover six ways to prepare your home electrically during the colder months.
Electrical Safety Inspection
A broken electrical panel will bring your family misery and it will be costly to fix. An electrical panel needs to be replaced every 30 years to ensure it is capable of meeting your household’s electrical demands. During those three decades, an electrical panel must stay reliable especially during the tough winters.
If it’s been a while since your home’s last electrical inspection, scheduling one before the winter would be wise. Electrical usage during the holidays rises dramatically, and having a licensed electrician make a safety inspection of your electrical panel and system will help keep everyone in your home safe.
Be Energy Efficient
When you improve the energy efficiency of your home, it helps prevent your electrical panel from being overworked. Phantom electrical loads are caused by electricity flowing to plugged-in appliances that are not being used. Yes, even if an appliance is turned off, it still consumes electricity that the local utility will add to your bill.
You can decrease your home’s energy consumption by unplugging unused appliances. Using a power strip can make this more convenient because one flip of the switch will cut electrical usage to several electrical devices.
Check Standby Generator
Another important task before winter is to have a service technician familiar with the make of your standby generator perform tests to ensure it is working properly. Maryland is an area that can experience blizzards and hurricanes, which can bring down power lines and cause long outages.
Having no electricity during the dead of winter will be very uncomfortable and unsafe for your family. A power outage may also cause damage to your home. If you don’t have a standby generator, talk to a licensed electrician about getting an installation this fall, so your family will be protected during winter.
Part 2 will cover three more ways for preparing your home electrically for winter.
Electrical Services You Can Trust
Founded in 1991, Meyer Electrical Services provides home and commercial electrical services in Maryland, Virginia, and D.C., where we are licensed and insured. Based in Bethesda, our team proudly serves all of Montgomery County. Receive a free consultation for custom electrical work today by calling (301) 941-1400.