7 Key Things to Do to Prepare Your Home for Freezing Weather

The weather forecast says that freezing weather is on its way. What do you do now? Preparing your home for a freeze is one of the most important things you can do, especially because winter storms cause billions of dollars of insured losses every year. What you need to do depends on the kind of home you have and the part of the country you live in. Yet there are some universal actions that may go a long way to protecting your family and your home. Get started with our cold weather tips for your home below.  

What is a Freeze Warning?

Before we dive into how to prepare your home for a freeze, we should cover what a freeze warning is. The National Weather Service (NWS) issues freeze warnings when temperatures are expected to fall below 32 degrees for an extended amount of time, which is cold enough to kill some residential and commercial plants. A hard freeze warning, on the other hand, occurs when sub-28-degree weather is predicted for at least one hour. Temperatures this low can potentially kill nearly all plants and cause uninsulated pipes to burst. Freezing weather may also come with wind chill warnings, which the NWS provides when wind chill values are cold enough to cause frostbite or hypothermia to develop in minutes. Keeping an eye on the weather forecast throughout the winter is essential to being prepared for the next winter storm. 

Get Your Heater Inspected & Serviced

Our heaters keep us warm and safe when the weather turns chilly. If you haven’t had any problems with yours for a while, it may be easy to take it for granted. There are a host of components in your heater that can fail, which can leave you out in the cold. That’s why getting your heater inspected before winter is critical, regardless of whether you live in North Texas or on Long Island. A routine heater inspection may catch things like faulty thermostats, dust and dirt in your boiler or furnace that can be a fire hazard or clogged ventilation systems that may make your system work harder to deliver warm airflow to your home.  

Scheduling proactive maintenance of your heater can help ensure you’ll have it working to its fullest capacity during a freeze while also preventing more costly repairs later.  

Insulate Your Pipes and Cover External Faucets

Frozen pipes can be catastrophic and expensive. Water expands when it freezes, which can increase the pressure within a closed pipe to the point that it causes a pipe burst. Even if the burst is minor, the volume of water that leaks out of the pipe can cause significant damage. According to Angi, pipes can potentially burst when temperatures drop below 32 degrees for an extended amount of time. Insulating your pipes can give them a much better chance of surviving the freeze. Because a pipe burst can cost as much as $5,000, this is a must-do.  

Fortunately, insulating your pipes is straightforward. One of the most common ways to do so is by using foam tubular pipe insulation, which you can find at your local home improvement store. This type of insulation is easy to cut, allowing you to get maximum coverage where you need it. Fiberglass and mineral wool insulation are alternatives as well. Make sure to insulate all pipes inside and outside your home you can access. Pay particular attention to your hot water pipes. These are more likely to burst because the water in them only moves when the valves are open. The water in the pipes has nowhere to expand if the valves are shut, increasing the risk of a burst.  

When you’re done wrapping your attic and above-ground pipes, detach your water hoses and insulate your faucets with a foam cover. If you have a sprinkler system, add insulation to its exposed pipes and sprinkler heads. For prolonged freezing weather, you may need to drain your irrigation system’s lines and shut off its water supply. When the freezing weather arrives, make sure to let your cold-water faucet drip and keep the doors for the cabinets that have pipes in them open. 

Learn How to Turn Off Your Home’s Water Supply

A burst pipe can cause significant water damage to your home. Even if you’ve done all the right things, you may still need to shut your water off quickly. Knowing where your main water line is before you have to deal with something like this can save you a lot of headaches, at the very least. Depending on where you live, your main water shut-off valve may be either on the side of your home with the water meter or within a utility box by the street. These valves may require special tools to operate; knowing what these are beforehand and keeping them handy may save you a lot of time when every moment matters. If you aren’t sure, you can check your property’s inspection report or ask your plumber. 

Add Insulation in Your Attic

Attic insulation can help control the temperature in your home throughout the year and reduce your electricity costs. Statistically, you may not have enough. According to Energy Star, about 90 percent of American homes are under-insulated. Insulation retains heat in your attic and crawl spaces, which can also help prevent frozen pipes. The amount of insulation your home needs depends on where you live. Energy Star recommends an insulation level of R60 if you live in Massachusetts compared to R49 in southeast Texas, for example.  

You can measure your current insulation level with a ruler. If you have fiberglass blown-in insulation, your R-value will be one unit per 2.2 inches. To reach the suggested amount for a home in Boston, for instance, you would need about 27 inches of insulation. Once you know how much you need to add, you can either rent a blowing machine from your nearest home improvement store or roll out new insulation on top of what you already have. Every home is different and there are some situations in which you shouldn’t add new insulation on top of old. When in doubt, work with a local insulation company to ensure everything is done correctly. 

Gather Your Emergency Supply Kit 

With freezing weather comes the potential for sleet, snow, ice accumulation, strong winds and power outages. One of the best ways to prepare for a potential power outage is by putting together supplies that can get you through a prolonged period without electricity. Get started with these items:  

• Clean blankets and warm clothes. 

• Extra batteries for flashlights, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and your other devices. 

• Enough food and water for several days. 

• Dry-chemical fire extinguisher. 

• Cat litter or sand for traction on sidewalks and driveways. 

• A solar or hand-crank phone charger. 

• Books and games to help pass the time. 

• Battery-powered radio. 

The Center for Disease Control recommends you create an emergency kit for your car that includes such items as tire chains, canned compressed air to repair your tires, road maps, emergency flares, waterproof matches and a windshield scraper. You can see their additional suggestions here. 

Protect Your Home Battery Storage System

If your home has solar panels with a battery storage system, you’ll need to protect your batteries from the worst the cold has to offer. Freezing weather can cause permanent damage to your battery’s cell chemistry, resulting in reduced health, performance and overall life span. “The best method to protect the health of your battery’s electrochemical reactions from extreme cold, including speed of charge-discharge, maximum power during charge-discharge and total energy reservoir, is to not expose your home battery to extreme cold in the first place,” says Blake Richetta, Chairman and CEO of sonnen, Inc., a global leader in home battery solutions.     

Because most home energy storage systems (ESS) with lithium batteries are installed in garages, “sonnen recommends utilizing a safe UL9540A Certified energy storage system for a code-approved indoor installation, as the elements (wind, freezing rain and snow) exacerbate the negative effect of the cold, on a battery’s chemical reactions,” Richetta says. Yet garages often lack insulation and are otherwise not designed to stay warm, meaning that the temperature can still drop low enough to harm your batteries.  

The solution, Richetta says, can be as simple as focusing an energy-efficient directional garage space heater with a “Soft Start” option like this model on your ESS. Getting a programmable option with a sensor and timer is recommended. Richetta suggests setting your heater to run for 30 minutes when the temperature drops below 35 degrees, which should warm your garage enough for the next three to four hours. However, you may need to modify this depending on your specific circumstances.  Flooded lead acid batteries stored outdoors need to be insulated as well. To do so properly, Richetta suggests you should:  

• Keep the battery clean and dry and check that all vent caps are tight. 

• Use a solution of baking soda and water to clean the battery if there is acid residue or corrosion on the terminals. 

• Apply protective spray or petroleum jelly to the terminals to reduce corrosion. 

• Store the battery in a cool, dry place, and recharge it before putting it back into service. 

• Add water, never acid, to the cells, and do not overwater. Use distilled water if possible. 

• Use a multi-stage charger that accommodates the phases of the electrolyte solution and helps to prevent sulfation and excessive gassing. 

• Use an equalization charge in flooded batteries to re-homogenize the electrolyte and break up any PbSO4 crystals. 

As an additional measure, altE suggests adding rigid foam insulation underneath your batteries that matches your geographical area’s R-value. Batteries give off heat as they charge; insulation underneath them helps them retain the heat they produce. Just make sure you avoid putting anything on top of your batteries as that can cause them to short out.  Additionally, never store them inside or in areas that are not well ventilated. Flooded lead acid batteries release hydrogen gas, creating a potential explosion or fire hazard. 

Charge Your Electric Vehicle Before the Cold Arrives

Cold weather affects gas and electric vehicles alike. For EVs, freezing temperatures can reduce driving range by an average of nearly 30 percent largely due to increased energy consumption to keep the car’s cabin warm. Most EVs can drive more than 100 miles on one charge, so you may not even notice this reduction in range unless you have a long commute. EV batteries take longer to charge in cold weather, so the first thing you should do is make sure that your car has a full charge before freezing temperatures arrive. Because EV batteries are less efficient in cold weather, never leave home without having a full charge and knowing where charging stations are along your route.  Beyond the basics, there are other ways you maximize your EV’s cold-weather performance, including:  

• Keeping, and charging, your EV in your garage will help it charge its battery more efficiently.  

• Starting your EV up in the cold takes a lot of energy, which is why you shouldn’t let your car fall below a 20 percent charge. 

• Some newer EVs allow you to set a leave time that your car’s battery needs to be charged by. This can help you precondition your car so it’s already warm by the time you leave, reducing the need for drawing more energy to warm up your car. 

• Use the seat and steering wheel warmer instead of the heater until your car is warmed up. This will help you improve your car’s range.  

• If you have a standard Level 1 charger, consider upgrading to a Level 2. Most of the energy consumed by a Level 1 charger goes to keeping your EV’s battery warm instead of charging it, while Level 2 chargers are far more effective at cold-weather charging.  

• Enroll in an EV charging electricity plan like the one offered by Shell Energy. Charging during a freeze may take longer, but with our plan you’ll enjoy free charging hours every night so you can drive sustainably and save. 

Additional Freezing Weather Tips

Beyond adding insulation to your attic and gathering emergency supplies early, there are other steps that you can take to prepare your home for the next freeze.  

• Cover your plants with frost blankets or bring them inside if you can. 

• Seal the weather stripping on your windows and doors to prevent air leaks and drafts. 

• Get your trees trimmed to reduce the risk of fallen branches.  

• Don’t open your garage door unless you need to. This will keep the cold air out of your house. 

• Verify that your carbon monoxide detectors are working.  

• Clean your gutters to keep ice from forming on your roof.  

You can find more heat-saving tips for the winter here. Freezing weather can be dangerous, but there are many ways you can prepare for it to ensure your home and your family make it through the next winter storm with ease. Read our other blog articles for more home energy tips and find your next renewable electricity plan here.