Chapter 05Calendar · System
A seasonal home calendar for your climate region
Look up your county in the Department of Energy's Building America list to get your climate region. Then build the year around two monthly checks (test the alarms, look at the HVAC filter) and the two time changes: book the cooling check-up in spring and the heating check-up in fall. The freeze jobs, like taking the hoses off, belong on the calendar in six of the eight regions. In the hot-humid and hot-dry regions they stay off unless your area freezes.
Source: DOE Building America climate regions by county, checked October 13, 2026; NFPA, installing and maintaining smoke alarms, checked October 15, 2026; ENERGY STAR maintenance checklist, checked October 15, 2026; American Red Cross, frozen pipes, checked October 6, 2026.
- Building America climate regions, listed county by county by DOE8 regions DOE Building America climate regions by county, October 13, 2026
- Every month: press each alarm's test button, look at the HVAC filter2 checks NFPA, installing and maintaining smoke alarms, October 15, 2026; ENERGY STAR maintenance checklist, October 15, 2026
- Clocks go back in 2026: read the calendar and book the heating check-upNov 1 NIST, daylight saving time rules, October 12, 2026
Do it, skip it or get help
Keep the calendar yourself
Finding your region, making the year in the tool and ticking the sheet takes one evening, then a few minutes a month. Every job on it is a call, a look, a test or a note.
Skip the rows that don't fit your house
No chimney, no septic tank, no central air: leave those rows off. In the hot-humid and hot-dry regions, skip the freeze rows unless your area does get a hard freeze.
The work goes to a contractor or the landlord
Heating, cooling, chimney, septic and any pipe work is for a licensed contractor, and if you rent, the landlord arranges it. This calendar says when to book and what to write down. It does not say how to service anything or whether it is working.
The steps, in order
Find your climate region
Look up your state and county in the DOE Building America guide. Each county has one of eight regions: hot-humid, hot-dry, mixed-humid, mixed-dry, marine, cold, very cold or subarctic.
Have ready: Your county's name
Source: DOE Building America climate regions by county, checked October 13, 2026.
Settle the freeze question
In the mixed, marine, cold, very cold and subarctic regions, the monthly average drops below 45 F in winter, so the freeze rows go in. Ask a neighbor which month the first hard freeze usually comes. If nobody knows, the tool assumes October.
Have ready: A neighbor who has seen a few winters here
Source: DOE Building America climate regions by county, checked October 13, 2026.
Make the year in the tool
Open the home maintenance calendar, pick the region, say whether you own or rent and tick what the house has. It lays out 12 months from your start date and prints a year sheet.
Have ready: A list of what the house has: furnace, central air, chimney, septic, outdoor faucets
Put the two time changes in your phone
The clocks go back on November 1, 2026 and forward on March 14, 2027. ENERGY STAR suggests planning check-ups around these two days, so one reminder on each date carries most of the year's booking.
Have ready: Your phone calendar
Source: NIST, daylight saving time rules, checked October 12, 2026; ENERGY STAR maintenance checklist, checked October 15, 2026.
Do the two monthly checks
Press the test button on every smoke and CO alarm, then look at the HVAC air filter and change or clean it if it is dirty. Pick the same day each month.
Have ready: A step stool and a spare filter
Source: NFPA, installing and maintaining smoke alarms, checked October 15, 2026; NFPA, carbon monoxide safety, checked October 15, 2026; ENERGY STAR maintenance checklist, checked October 15, 2026.
Spring: book cooling, read the alarm dates
In March, book the cooling check-up and read the date on the back of each smoke alarm. Any alarm 10 years past that date gets replaced.
Have ready: The contractor's number and a pen
Source: ENERGY STAR maintenance checklist, checked October 15, 2026; USFA, Don't wait, check the date handout, checked October 12, 2026.
Fall: chimney, drafts, heating, batteries
Book the chimney cleaning and inspection in September, do the paper test on windows and doors in October, then book the heating check-up and put new batteries in alarms that take them in November.
Have ready: A sheet of paper for the draft test and fresh batteries
Source: USFA heating fire safety, checked October 11, 2026; ENERGY STAR, seal behind window and door trim, checked October 9, 2026; ENERGY STAR maintenance checklist, checked October 15, 2026; NFPA, installing and maintaining smoke alarms, checked October 15, 2026.
Before the first freeze
The month before your first hard freeze, take the hoses off, drain them and put them away, as the Red Cross list says. Gather supplies for several days at home without power and write down where they are kept.
Have ready: The freeze month from step 2
Source: American Red Cross, frozen pipes, checked October 6, 2026; Ready.gov, winter weather, checked October 6, 2026.
Tick and date the sheet
Write the date next to each job when it's done. At each time change, read the sheet and carry anything left over into the next month.
Have ready: The printed year sheet and a pen
Print the working copy
One page, black and white, US Letter. Tick the boxes and write the dates in.
- County looked up in the DOE region list
- Region written at the top of the sheet
- First freeze month asked or set to October
- Year made in the tool and printed
- Both time changes in the phone
What goes wrong
The region is a guess from the state
Two counties with the same name can sit in different regions. The DOE list puts Cook County, Illinois in the cold region and Cook County, Minnesota in very cold. Look up the county, not the state.
Source: DOE Building America climate regions by county, checked October 13, 2026.
Hoses still on at the first freeze
The freeze row was set for the wrong month, or nobody knew the month. Set your own freeze month in the tool, and if you don't know it, keep the October guess so the row comes up in September.
Everything booked when it's already hot or cold
ENERGY STAR notes that contractors get busy once summer and winter arrive. A check-up booked at the time change usually gets a date sooner than one booked during the first cold snap.
Source: ENERGY STAR maintenance checklist, checked October 15, 2026.
The monthly checks drift
"Sometime this month" becomes three months. A fixed day, like the first Saturday, and a tick column on the sheet keep the alarm test and the filter look from slipping.
The sheet lives in a drawer
Hang the year sheet where you already write dates, next to the family calendar or on the fridge, so the month's jobs are in front of you.
When the steps change
Renting
Pick "We rent" in the tool. Booking rows turn into questions for the landlord, the septic row comes off, and the freeze row asks who closes the inside valves. The alarm tests and the filter look stay with you. Your lease decides who does what.
Hot-humid and hot-dry regions
The DOE guide defines hot-dry as a place where the monthly average stays above 45 F all year. The tool leaves the freeze rows off by default in both hot regions; if your area does freeze, pick the month and they come back.
Source: DOE Building America climate regions by county, checked October 13, 2026.
Hawaii and most of Arizona
These places don't change the clocks. Untick the time change box; the spring jobs stay in March and the fall jobs in November, without the clock dates.
Source: NIST, daylight saving time rules, checked October 12, 2026.
Hurricane coasts
Pick your season in the tool and a May reminder appears to read Ready.gov's hurricane page and check your supply list. The Atlantic season opens June 1 and the Eastern Pacific season May 15.
Source: Ready.gov, hurricanes, checked October 12, 2026.
Tips and tricks
- Tip 01
Use the county list, not a map
Region lines follow county lines, so the table in the DOE guide gives a clear answer where a colored map leaves you squinting at a border.
Source: DOE Building America climate regions by county, checked October 13, 2026.
- Tip 02
Write the region on the sheet
Put the region and the freeze month at the top of the year sheet. Next fall you won't have to look them up again.
- Tip 03
Call on the weekend the clocks change
Make the booking calls that weekend, before the first hot or cold week fills the contractor's schedule.
- Tip 04
Keep spare batteries and a filter in one box
When November comes, the batteries and the next filter are already in the house, so the job takes minutes.
- Tip 05
Log each booked visit the same day
When you book a check-up, write it on the home service log right away so the next due date is ready for next year's sheet.
What we would do
Look up your county tonight and print the sheet before November 1
Find your region in the DOE list, make the year in the tool with your own freeze month, and hang the sheet by the calendar. Set phone reminders for November 1, 2026 and March 14, 2027, and use those two days to book the check-ups.
Source: DOE Building America climate regions by county, checked October 13, 2026; NIST, daylight saving time rules, checked October 12, 2026.
The tools and guides in this system
Chapter 05Home maintenance calendarPick your climate region, say whether you own or rent and tick what the house has. Get a year of household jobs by month and a year sheet to print.Open the tool
Know-howWhich climate region am I in? The eight DOE home climate regions in plain wordsThe eight DOE Building America climate regions in plain words, how to find your county in the list, and what the 45 F line and heating degree days mean.Read the guide
Practical noteThe spring time change list: four house jobs for the weekend the clocks go forwardWhat to do the weekend the clocks go forward: book the cooling check-up, read each smoke alarm's date, test every alarm and look at the HVAC filter.Read the guide- Chapter 05All calendar toolsA home maintenance calendar for your climate region: the jobs to book, check and write down each month, for owners and renters, with a year sheet to print.Open the chapter
Questions
How do I find my climate region for home maintenance?
Use the Department of Energy's Building America guide. It lists every US county with one of eight regions, from hot-humid to subarctic, and the lines follow county borders. Find your state, then your county.
Source: DOE Building America climate regions by county, checked October 13, 2026.
Which home jobs change with the climate region?
Mostly the freeze jobs: taking the hoses off before the first hard freeze and a supply list for days without power. The monthly alarm test, the filter look and the spring and fall check-up bookings stay the same in every region.
Source: American Red Cross, frozen pipes, checked October 6, 2026; Ready.gov, winter weather, checked October 6, 2026.
When should I book the furnace and AC check-ups?
ENERGY STAR suggests cooling in spring and heating in fall, planned around the time changes, because contractors get busy once summer and winter arrive. In 2026 the clocks go back on November 1.
Source: ENERGY STAR maintenance checklist, checked October 15, 2026; NIST, daylight saving time rules, checked October 12, 2026.
Do I need freeze jobs in Florida or Arizona?
Usually not by default. Miami-Dade is hot-humid and Maricopa is hot-dry in the DOE list, and the tool leaves the freeze rows off for both regions. If your own area freezes, pick the month and the rows come back.
Source: DOE Building America climate regions by county, checked October 13, 2026.
I rent. Is this calendar for me?
Yes, with renter rows. The alarm tests and the filter look are usually yours, and the booking rows become questions for the landlord. Your lease decides who books what.
The primary source
Guide to Determining Climate Regions by County (Building America Best Practices Series, Volume 7.3, PNNL-17211 Rev. 3), U.S. Department of Energy, Building America (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory). Checked October 13, 2026.
The steps on this page follow this source. Other figures cite their own source where they appear.
Other sources on this page
- Installing and maintaining smoke alarms, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Checked October 15, 2026.
- Heating and Cooling Maintenance Checklist, ENERGY STAR (U.S. EPA and DOE). Checked October 15, 2026.
- Frozen Pipes, American Red Cross. Checked October 6, 2026.
- Daylight Saving Time Rules, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Checked October 12, 2026.
- Carbon monoxide safety, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Checked October 15, 2026.
- Don't Wait, Check the Date! Replace smoke alarms every 10 years, U.S. Fire Administration (FEMA). Checked October 12, 2026.
- Heating fire safety outreach materials, U.S. Fire Administration (FEMA). Checked October 11, 2026.
- Seal Behind Window and Door Trim Project, ENERGY STAR (U.S. EPA and DOE). Checked October 9, 2026.
- Winter Weather, Ready.gov (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, FEMA). Checked October 6, 2026.
- Hurricanes, Ready.gov (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, FEMA). Checked October 12, 2026.
See every source on the site on the sources page. Spotted an error? Tell us.