text: Royal Heating & Air: It's Not Too Early To Get Ready For Winter
  Summer is sticking around for one more month, but it's never too early to get a jump start on prepping your home for the cold winter season. Royal Heating & Air wants to make sure you stay toasty warm during the cold months, so we've put together a list of things you can do to help.
  1. Make sure your home is properly insulated.
  Without proper insulation, it will be harder for your home to keep cool or warm. While your HVAC system is hard at work, if your home isn't properly insulated, it will continue to work even when it doesn't need too. The heat can escape from your home, and to make up for the heat loss, your furnace will continue to run. With proper insulation, your home can stay nice and warm all winter long, without overworking your furnace.
  2. Seal up your home's windows and door frames.
  Just like with improper insulation, not having your windows and doors sealed could let out precious warm air. Take the time to walk around your home and make sure all windows are sealed up. If you feel outside air around your windows, take silicon chaulk and seal up any openings. It's also important to check around door frames and make sure that the weather stripping on the bottom of the door is in tack.
  3. Go outside and check your property.
  During the winter months, the Lake area can experience some harsh weather. Make sure nothing gets damaged, like your AC unit, by taking a walk around the outside of your home and clear away any dead branches from the trees.
  4. Make sure your chimney is clean.
  Alternate heat sources are a great way to give your furnace a little break during the cold winter season. However, you have to take precaution when using these alternate heat sources. If your home has a fireplace, it's a great way to get a little cozy. However, it's important to make sure you get it cleaned regularly. It's recommended to clean your fireplace twice a year for health and safety reasons. It will help reduce allergens in your home and prevent your flue from being clogged.
  5. Check the thermostat.
  Now that summer is winding down, it's a good time to check that the thermostat is working properly on the heat setting. During a cooler night, take the time to switch the thermostat from cool to heat to ensure it kicks on. While doing this, it's also a good idea to check the air filter and change it as necessary.
  During the summer, it's recommended to set the ceiling fans to rotate counter clockwise to blow the air straight down. However, in the winter months, it's best to have the ceiling fan rotating clockwise. You may think that having the ceiling fan at all would be counterintuitive. However, heat rises, so when it's set to counter clockwise on a low setting, it can push the warm air away from the ceiling and down into the room.
  7. Get your HVAC system serviced.
  Although the furnace may have kicked on and seemed like everything is fine, it still needs to be looked at by a professional Lake of the Ozarks HVAC technician. It's always best to have your furnace serviced by a professional before the start of the season to ensure there is no underlying issue that could be overlooked.
  Although we don't want to think about it, summer is slowly winding down. Royal Heating & Air wants to make sure you stay toasty warm all winter long. Give us a call at today to get your fall service check scheduled today!
  Labels: Best Heating and Cooling Company at the Lake of the Ozarks, Furnace Maintenance at the Lake of the Ozarks, HVAC tips