Painting always was a fall occupation, however, because that was when conditions were almost perfect. Putting in insulation, you can do that any time.
Some tree branches need removing, but that's an hour of work, at worst. I do need to repoint the top of the chimney; I did it much too quickly on a warm day in December, and it looks like it. But that won't take more than a few hours on a nice early-autumn Saturday morning.
The heat/ventilation/air-conditioning system will require a filter change sometime. My repairman recommends that it be done annually for my particular system; yours may require a more frequent change.
If you have an older heating system, you may want to have it serviced before the late-autumn rush. That way, if it needs to be replaced, you can have that done before the real cold weather sets in.
Every year, according to federal statistics, 2.5 million American homeowners replace their heaters. Of the 43 million residential oil and gas furnaces in operation in U.S. homes, one in four is more than 20 years old.
Many new furnaces are 25 percent to 40 percent more efficient than older ones; the Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star program promotes furnaces using a "condensing technology" as the most efficient. A furnace's efficiency rating tells you how much of the total energy used is delivered to the home as heat. The higher the rating, the better.
At our house, the annual question is: to cover, or not to cover, the central-air condenser during the winter? I don't cover it and have never had a problem. My neighbors don't and so far, so good. My repairman agrees with me.
If you aren't sure which way to go, ask your service person or contact the manufacturer of your unit for a recommendation. If you do (or don't do) what the manufacturer advises, it could affect the warranty.
