Winterization
Encyclopedia
The term is most commonly used in respect to aquatic play features, fountains, and the like, which must be drained and sealed up so that water inside does not freeze, causing breakage of the pipes in the fountain, or the like.
Winterization strategies
Some fountains, such as the Ontario Science Centre FUNtain Hydraulophone and the flame fountain in Nathan Philips Square, are designed to run year-round by virtue of heated water, whereas others require that the water be drained and that all apertures be covered to keep rainwater from entering the fountain and freezing inside.Winterizing a summer home
Some summer homes, also known as cabins or cottageCottage
__toc__In modern usage, a cottage is usually a modest, often cozy dwelling, typically in a rural or semi-rural location. However there are cottage-style dwellings in cities, and in places such as Canada the term exists with no connotations of size at all...
s, were built for summer use only and need to be winterized each Fall. This entails locking them up, turning off water, electricity, and phone lines, and protecting various features from heavy snowfall.
In the New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
area, many wealthy families living in cities during the 19th century had summer homes in the mountains. This was to flee the onset of yellow fever
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
and other epidemics which often struck in the summer months, when city plumbing problems and stagnant horse manure in the streets caused a health hazard. Winterization would take place each Fall when the families returned to the cities (often when school started). In those days, winterization just referred to a lock-down of all movable parts as protection from winter storms. An example of such a summer home that needs to be winterized each fall is the scene of the movie On Golden Pond
On Golden Pond (1981 film)
On Golden Pond is a 1981 American drama film directed by Mark Rydell. The screenplay by Ernest Thompson was adapted from his 1979 play of the same title. Henry Fonda won the Academy Award in what was his final film role. Co-star Katharine Hepburn also received an Oscar, as did Thompson for his...
, which was filmed on Squam Lake
Squam Lake
Squam Lake is a lake located in central New Hampshire, USA, south of the White Mountains, straddling the borders of Grafton, Carroll, and Belknap counties. The largest town center on the lake is Holderness...
.
In the 20th century, these summer mountain homes in turn, were winterized to enable winter holidays, as the popularity of skiing
Skiing
Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
in the mountains increased over the popularity of summer camping
Camping
Camping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...
. In this sense, winterization refers to the addition of modern amenties such as heating and insulation
Thermal insulation
Thermal insulation is the reduction of the effects of the various processes of heat transfer between objects in thermal contact or in range of radiative influence. Heat transfer is the transfer of thermal energy between objects of differing temperature...
, often entailing a complete rebuild of the cottage.
Winterization of equipment
Equipment designed for use in particularly extreme cold conditions (such as the ArcticArctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
) also undergoes a "winterization" process. Many complex devices (automobiles, electronics and radios) as well as common materials (metals, rubbers, petroleum lubricants) are not designed to operate at extremely low temperatures and must be winterized to operate without severe damage from the elements in such conditions. This might involve a chemical treatment process, additional waterproofing/insulation, or even the total substitution of new parts. An example would be the internal combustion engine
Internal combustion engine
The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer in a combustion chamber. In an internal combustion engine, the expansion of the high-temperature and high -pressure gases produced by combustion apply direct force to some component of the engine...
of an automobile; the installation of heaters
Block heater
A block heater warms an engine to ease and speed starting and vehicle warmup in cold weather. The most common type is an electric heating element connected through a power cord often routed through the vehicle's grille. The block heater may replace one of the engine's core plugs, or may be...
on the engine block and battery as well as the substitution of winter-grade coolants and lubricants allows the vehicle to start and run in sub-freezing conditions where a non-winterized engine would quickly break down.
Winterization of equipment can be thought of as the winter-weather extension of ruggedization
Rugged computer
A rugged computer is a computer specifically designed to reliably operate in harsh usage environments and conditions, such as strong vibrations, extreme temperatures and wet or dusty conditions...
.