Ocean Isle homeowners love entertaining holiday guests, but the season can take a real toll on their homes' core systems. Increased electricity demand, plenty of plumbing use, and unpredictable weather make hosting a bit complicated for even experienced hosts and hostesses. A+ Heating & Cooling - Electrical has a few tips to prepare your HVAC, electrical, and plumbing systems to handle the heavy holiday load.
Preparing Your Home for the Holidays, System by System
Unfortunately, the holidays often put additional strain on plumbing and electrical infrastructure. Having more people around the house means more water use, more toilets flushing, and more gadgets plugged into outlets. Thankfully, with a little preparation, you can prevent circuits from overloading and drains from clogging.
1. Use Your Thermostat
Bringing people together, day-long food prep, and spirited football fans can quickly turn your home into a sauna. Adjust your thermostat settings to keep everyone comfortable based on occupancy and activity levels. We recommend lowering your temperature by 4-6 degrees during holiday gatherings with a lot of guests (think 10 or more), but ask throughout the day to ensure everyone is comfortable.
2. Prepare for Bad Weather
Stay ahead of seasonal storms and plunging temperatures with preventive HVAC maintenance. If you host during the holidays every year, schedule your seasonal maintenance appointment a few weeks before the big day to ensure your heating system is in top condition. This will identify any necessary repairs before they disrupt your hosting plans.
3. Account for Alternative Heat Sources
Nothing adds seasonal charm like a crackling fireplace or pellet stove, but these likely aren’t the most efficient heat sources. Drafts, heat loss, and poor circulation make wood-burning appliances inefficient compared to furnaces or heat pumps. Use these alternative heat sources sparingly to create ambiance, not to keep you cozy.
4. Prevent Overloaded Circuits
Each guest may bring an electrical gadget or two to plug in, and preparing holiday meals may also require additional small cooking appliances. But, connecting too many devices can cause blown fuses and increased fire risk.
How To Avoid Overloaded Circuits
- Identify which devices and appliances are on the same circuit. To do this, head to your circuit panel and turn off circuits one by one; whatever powers down is on the circuit.
- Avoid using portable devices like space heaters and hair dryers at the same time and on the same circuit.
- Indicate outlets on circuits with lower electricity demand for guests to use. Place a small table or sign (“Power Station”) to encourage charging devices there.
If your home is still facing issues with overloaded circuits, consider having your strained circuits rewired to improve performance and reduce your risk of fire or other problems.
5. Deodorize Your Home
One of the best ways to ensure your guests feel welcome is to deodorize your home. While you may not notice it, every house has its own distinct smell, which may or may not agree with some guests.
How To Deodorize Your Home Quickly
- Air it out: Start by opening windows and doors to let in fresh air. You can also run your HVAC system’s fan to increase air flow in the house, improving ventilation.
- Remove the stink: Address common causes of odor by taking out the trash, cleaning out drains, throwing out old food from the fridge, and cleaning soft materials like upholstery, rugs, and carpeting.
There are also natural ways to deodorize your home, such as shaking baking soda onto carpet or rugs and letting it sit for 20-30 minutes before vacuuming it up.
Preparing Your Home for Holiday Guests Is Simple
Focus on the basics when getting ready for the holidays: make guests feel welcome, be accommodating, and be ready for anything with A+ Heating & Cooling - Electrical. Find out why Ocean Isle residents trust our local home service technicians for prompt, professional service when it matters most. From our entire team, have a wonderful holiday season, and schedule an appointment to get ahead of common home issues this year!
Contact us online or call 910-600-6025 to schedule an appointment!