In case you happen to be staying in a poorly insulated home, something that a majority of people do, there are high possibilities that you may end up spending a fortune on energy bills. The current economic crunch worries you, especially now that winter is coming and you don’t have much money to use on the energy bills yet you just have to stay warm and comfortable. Our forefathers used to keep warm during such extreme weather conditions without incurring any costs and if they did, the costs were very low. Today, advances in physics have enabled us to understand how those methods used to work thus enabling us the ability of measuring and choosing the most ideal and effective method to warm our homes.
Check out this review of a modern, cost effective and efficient way of heating your home:
The most important thing for us to understand is the fact that more heat is lost from our bodies through radiation to the surroundings when compared to convection to the air. This explains the reason why your house gets so cold especially just after the winter break even after the central heating system has been turned on. Even though the air is quickly warmed by the heating system, it takes quite some time for the walls to warm up hence you may end up shivering for up to even an entire day before the rooms become warm and comfortable.
In likewise manner, the external walls of poorly insulated houses tend to be several degrees colder than those internal walls and the air within thus making the occupants to feel chilly. Fortunately, you can use some five simple methods to overcome the chill while at the same time minimizing on the heating energy bills.
Close your curtains just before sunset
You should always open your curtains only on sunny days during the winter season. This is because the sun’s radiation allows more radiant energy in than out. Sun’s radiation has the ability of getting in to the house via the glass windows. However, the infrared radiations are not capable of getting out after reflection on the internal surfaces. This keeps the house warm. However, the single glazed windows always tend to be extremely cold at night. These temperatures can get to temperatures ranging to around 7°C during those frosty days. Double glazed windows are also culprits as they will have temperature reduction to the region of 14°C on such frosty days. Such reduction in temperatures will lead to energy losses ranging from 50 to 100 watts/square meter.
Having your curtains in between the windows and the house ensures that minimal heat is lost to the surroundings. Lower the blinds just before sunset after closing your curtains and add insulations where possible. In addition, reduce draughts and you will be able to keep your home warmer than you can imagine.
Cover the walls
Glass is a lesser superior insulator when compared with the solid stone or brick walls. However, these solid walls still get lose their heat thus becoming cold. The sad thing is that it takes time for them to regain their heat. It may take the whole day for these solid walls to gain enough heat to offer warmth in the house. In most cases, these walls will fall approximately 4°C cooler than the temperatures of the air within the rooms however thick they may be.
Covering your walls is therefore paramount. If you don’t do, it will be unfortunate for you as you may end up spending more on your heating bills to keep the house warm.
The use of mirrors and framed pictures wherever applicable is one way of covering the walls. You can also design your house with bookshelves wherever possible and fill these shelves with books. These are in fact just the best. If you are a collector of all the books that interests you and you always ensure that you never lose even a single one, then you are good to go. The results will be impressive as much of the warm air will be prevented from escaping through the walls. Hanging tapestries and carpets on your walls will also be effective ways of cutting the loss of energy by almost a quarter.
Cover and insulate your front door
Draughts can always be let in to the house through the external doors. Though the thin doors are the most susceptible, even the single and double glazed are also culprits to some extent. The doors’ temperatures can fall to below 10°C during cold weather. The use of a thick lined curtain to cover the door together with the surrounding walls does much in elimination of pretty much of the heat loss. In addition, you should use a draft stopper to prevent any warm air from escaping through the small space between the floor and the lower surface of the door.
Use Screens
Though it is not possible to eliminate the loss of heat through the external walls, it is very possible to shield oneself from any form of cold within the house. Traditional, wooden screens were drawn as people concentrated or rather huddled themselves around fire. These screens kept their backs quite warm as they were at room temperature whereas their fronts were being heated by the fire’s radiation. It doesn’t harm to do the same even if it is an old tradition. In anyway, it has been proven to be effective. In addition to the back screens, the use of miniature fire screens will help protect your faces from the damaging effect of the heat coming from the roaring fires.
Position the Furniture around the Warm
Even though the air temperatures tend to be even throughout, the location you chose to be in within the house dictates the warmth you will feel. The external walls are always colder than the internal walls thus one will feel warmer if they take positions as far away from the external walls as possible. For such reasons, try to concentrate your furniture closer to the internal walls and you will end up adjusting the thermostat upwards by fewer degrees than if you concentrated around the external walls.
If at all your desk is located at the external walls with your legs close to these walls, your legs will tend to feel cold most of the time. You can counter this by placing a cardboard against the wall. If the same is with your bed, use a solid headboard to counter the cold effects. If your space is big enough, using a four-poster bed is always the best solution.
The secret is all about understanding the way heat moves around your house and you will be able to brave this coming cold season without spending much on energy bills. Just use an infrared camera to investigate the thermal properties of different areas within the house and you will be able to have an idea on how to make any necessary improvements.