With winter just around the corner, and gas prices at a stratospheric high, it’s only reasonable to want to invest in insulation. After all, heating represents a huge chunk of our energy expenditure. You can leave a light on for several hours and use the same amount of energy it takes to run a boiler for just a few seconds.
In many cases, you can make changes with minimal equipment. But as ever, it’s worth investing in quality tools from the start. Storing them in your tool box for any emergency repairs and changes will pay off in the long run.
So, what’s the best way to keep the heat we generate inside our homes, where it can actually provide some benefit? Let’s look at a few useful strategies.
Dress the windows
By hanging heavy curtains over your windows, you’ll restrict the flow of air between the room and the space between the curtains and the glass. As a consequence, you’ll lose heat much more slowly.
Install double-glazing
Double-glazing works by sandwiching a layer of inert gas (typically argon) between two panes of glass. This restricts the flow of heat from one side to the other, since heat has a tough time flowing through inert gas. But if your window should develop a leak, then the gas in question will escape – hugely reducing the performance of the window. As such, it’s worth replacing older windows as early as possible.
Insulate the loft
Heat tends to rise up through a building and escape through the top. By layering plenty of insulating material in your loft, therefore, you’ll be able to hugely improve the heat-retaining ability of your property. Around 270mm of mineral wool should help you to stay on top of what’s currently recommended.
Bleeding radiators
Over time, pockets of air will rise to the top of your heating system, leaving bubbles at the top of your radiators. You can get rid of these bubbles by bleeding your radiators. This will allow warm water to access the entire radiator, rather than just the bottom of it. This, in turn, will improve the efficiency of your heating system.
Rugs
If you’re dealing with hard floors, then you might find that they’re a little bit on the chilly side, especially first thing in the morning. This is something that you can deal with by installing a few choice fluffy rugs. If you have concrete floors, then you might find that this is especially effective, since the concrete is sure to cool down substantially overnight.
If you’re looking to do major renovations, then you might also consider installing underfloor heating. This will help the tiles to warm up quickly in the morning, providing a feeling of luxury and cosiness. Just bear in mind that installing such a system involves a fairly substantial amount of work, especially if you’re looking for ‘wet’ underfloor heating.