HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — While many people may be enjoying these cooler temperatures that rolled into the Tennessee Valley this past week, it’s only a matter of time before chilly winter days are here.

It’s never too early to start prepping your home for those colder days.

It’ll be a few more weeks until we cross Halloween off the calendar, but experts say now is a good time to start that winter-time prep.

Todd Little, Hiller Heating and Plumbing Operations Manager, says one way you can do that is by checking and turning on your heating system.

“When systems sit over the summer, they start building up dust and it can burn off the debris that builds up on the heat exchangers and on the electric heat strips,” Little said. When that happens, sometimes it can set off people’s smoke detectors.

Heating isn’t the only thing to watch out for, there are some things you can do on the plumbing side as well.

“Unhooking the faucets outside the hose bibs, the spickets, making sure the hoses are not hooked up, putting covers on those, that sort of thing,” Little said.

And many of these tips, like putting covers on your faucets, and preparations can be done on a budget.

Little said having regular maintenance done, like having the system cleaned and checked could also help people save on their utility bills. It also may help avoid the system having any costly breakdowns, according to Little.

And after what we saw around Christmas last year with consecutive days of single-digit temperatures, Little says proper preparation can keep your pipes from freezing or bursting.

He recommended knowing where your ‘whole home shut off’ switch is so that in the event something does go wrong, you can shut it off quickly.

This is a good time to check your carbon monoxide and smoke detectors as well.