How to Warm your House During Winter Without Spending a Fortune
For some reason, the electricity bills seem to hit a record high as temperatures inch down. This leaves a large number of families shivering through winter dreading their next electricity bills. But warming your house during winter can be easier than most people think. In fact, it doesn’t have to revolve around energy-intensive warming.
If you are looking to warm your indoor spaces, we have compiled a list of some practical and affordable tips on how to warm your house during winter without spending a fortune
Use your curtains
This may come as a no-brainer suggestion but it surely saves you some pocket change.Although winter experiences minimal or no sunshine at all, you can make most of it.
If you note a slight sunshine, open the curtains to allow the sunlight in. When the weather changes, shut your curtains and trap the heat inside the house. By shutting them, you are creating a sort of extra layer of insulation.
Additionally, ensure that there are no leaks or gaps in between the window panes so the warm air stays inside while the cold air stays in its rightful place-outside.
Install a programmable central heating
Programmable central heating allows you to set your heating to a predefined period. Essentially, you don’t have to manually fiddle with your heating system every time you are in the house hence paying for the heating when you need it.
As an extra saving tip, you can also preset your boiler 30 minutes before waking up as this significantly drives the costs further down.
Capitalize on your insulation
Multiple pieces of research have shown that approximately25% of heat is lost through the roof. As a countermeasure, you can reduce the heat loss by insulating your loft.
It’s also worth paying attention to your walls as they also play a significant role in heat loss. Un-insulated walls allow about a third of your house heat to escape. And although wall insulation comes with a steep price tag, they are a worthy investment.
Some energy suppliers run cheap insulation schemes so checking with your supplier is probably a good idea.
Lastly, seal your doors and windows with self-adhesive rubber seals as they are relatively cheaper compared to other sealing methods.
Move your sofa
Nothing comes close to having your favorite couch right next to the radiator. However, the same seat could be draining your wallet in heating bills thanks to its heat absorbing capacity.
Moving the seats away from the radiator allows the hot air to circulate freely in every corner of the house. The same goes when drying your clothes.
Keep a closer look on your fireplaces
Romantic as they are, fireplaces can be terribly inefficient in terms of house heating. They are toasty warm right in front of the roaring flames, but most of the heat ends up being exhausted at the fireplace-commonly known as the stack effect in physics.
To avoid throwing a damper on your idyllic evenings in front of crackling logs, install a glass front at your fireplace to utilize some of that heated air to warm your house.
Beyond that, always close the flue when not using the fireplace. Failing to do so translates to having another open window allowing cold air in and letting warm air out.
Take a look at your ceiling fans.
Most of us don’t use ceiling fans during winter. Instead of letting the fans sit idly, you can utilize the “winter setting”. This setting allows the fan to move clockwise vs. counterclockwise. The clockwise-spinning pushes the rising heat down into your rooms instead of it being trapped at the ceilings.
Keep doors closed
Spending a lot of time in a room can create a sort of sauna! If you so happen to spend a significant chunk of your time in a particular room, you can leave the door closed trapping all the heat. In the case of large rooms with open spaces, you can look for room dividers. You may think that this is an outrageous suggestion but a little less escaping air goes a long way in heating your house.
Additionally, shut the doors to the less frequently used rooms in your house. Such acts lower the overall square footage that requires heating and quickly spread the heated air in every corner.
Ultimately, keep yourself warm
When it comes to winter housewarming, there is one mantra that keeps on emerging, instead of focusing on how to warm your house, understand that it is easier to warm yourself. In real sense, your house doesn’t really care whether its summer or winter, but you should because it’s your body that is cold.
During those chilly winter days, throw on a sweater, a warm robe, and sip hot coffee during the day; essentially, pull whatever trick that keeps you warm and comfortable.
Do you have an inexpensive tip for keeping the house warm that we missed? Comment below and share your thoughts.