How To Keep Your House Warm
Depending on the age of your home, it may not be properly insulated, allowing heat to escape through the roof, floors and walls. A total of 25% of heat is lost through the roof, windows and draughts, 35% lost through walls, and 15% lost through the floor.
If this is the case, the first port of call is to get your roof insulated. This can reduce heat loss dramatically and is the easiest and least expensive option. Wall insulation is a good idea to especially if you have a solid wall construction, as this is how most of a home’s heat is lost. It can be costly, but worth it in the long run and we are able to offer assistance through our sister company “Beaumont Facades”. If you have bare floor boards or wood flooring in your home then this is another easy way for heat to be lost. By adding rugs you will help reduce heat loss, as the rug retains helps to retain the heat and block any gaps between floorboards which would normally be an escape route for warm air.
Windows are another main cause of heat loss, predominantly old windows. Double glazed windows normally last about twenty years, and when they start to fail you will notice misting and condensation appearing between the two panes of glass, as well as the rubber seals starting to wear away. Replacing old windows for new double glazed windows will greatly improve heat retention in your house, along with fully lined curtains, as street noise and cold air can be kept out and heat can stay firmly in your room. Don’t forget during the day in winter to leave your curtains open to let the sunlight in, which will naturally help to heat up your home with solar gain.
Fit draught excluders to your main doors and letterboxes, as well as decorative cushion draught excluders indoors to help stop draughts entering your rooms. You’d be surprised at the amount of heat lost and how much cold air can creep through closed doors. Another simple yet effective trick is to not place furniture in front of radiators, as they will absorb most of the heat and stop it from fully heating your room.
Have you ever thought your gutter and drains could be causing a problem with heating your home? Having blocked gutters and drains can cause your walls to become cold, and increase the likelihood of damp occurring, as moisture cannot be drained quickly and ends up sitting there against your walls.
Finally, your heating system could be letting you down. Boilers only last around 15 years, and within that time technology can change greatly, creating new, improved and renewable ways for you to heat your home. Make sure your boiler is serviced yearly to help keep it in top condition or consider fitting a heat pump (air or ground) source. Also try to ensure that you have total control on heating your home with an option to “time” when you want your heating to come on/ off and at what temperature, thus helping to stop you from leaving it on for longer periods of time than necessary – new controls are relatively cheap but can save you £000’s during the year.
Hopefully with all the above tips your home will become a nice warm retreat that can now also help to save you money, as your home won’t take as long to get warm and will retain the heat better – resulting in you not needing your heating on for as long, or at such a high temperature as it once may have been.