Learn When & Why Your Home’s Pipes Can Burst

A friend went away over the holidays leaving their older son to check on their home as he lives close by. The house was set to 50 degrees to save on heating costs. Unfortunately none of us can easily tell what 50 degrees feels like, besides “colder than we expect to feel indoors.” When the furnace stopped working, the son wasn’t able to tell the difference between 50 degrees and … something lower, which eventually reach freezing?

In fact the house doesn’t have to go below freezing for your pipes to freeze, which of course is what happened in this story. We’ve been doing Home Energy Audits and it is not unusual to find a twenty (20) degree difference in a single room. Maintaining a consistent temperature (warm or cool) in your home requires that you’re home be well sealed, and have heating/cooling capacity and distribution to adequately provide the desired temperature.

Heating and Cooling Basics

What does this mean? The short definition for each of these terms follows. My Home Energy report will be available shortly (written & cleaning up formatting this weekend) so send email tina@MyHandymanNH.com if you’d like a copy of my Home Energy Report.

How Air Flows, Energy Star

• Sealing - involves closing or “sealing” the gaps in your home where air can enter from the outside.
• Heating/cooling - refers to some type of furnace (air conditioner) unit that alters the temperature of the air inside your home.
• Distribution - refers to the way in which the warmed/cooled air is circulated around your home, typically via air ducts or hot water pipes.
• Ventilation - is another key component of your heating/cooling “whole house” system. As warmed air will escape to your attic, it must be release outdoors so that the moisture it carries does not collect and cause mold to grow.