5 Ways To Keep Your Home Warmer This Winter
As the temperature begins to drop, your comfort levels can as well, if you aren’t prepared.
With winter just around the corner, homeowners want to make sure they check off these top 5 ways to keep your home warmer this winter.
Seeing you can’t prevent the icy winds from coming, you can at least take practical steps to improve your comfort for the winter.
5 Ways to Keep your Home Warm
1. Use The Sun To Your Advantage
The warmth from the sun has been utilized in homes for decades. Even when it’s cold outside, the sun can still provide extra warmth for you and your loved ones.
The trick is to make sure you open your curtains when the sun comes out and then to close them when it begins to get dark. This will keep the warmth from sneaking out of your windows and can help you avoid condensation.
By closing the curtains, it allows them to function as an extra barrier between you and the windows, keeping in as much warmth as possible.
There are also a few other passive solar heating options that you could add to your home (if you’re in the process of renovating or building).
This is great if you’re wanting to harness even more of the sun’s power for your home. It involves building with denser materials, which just so happens to naturally attract and hold onto more heat from the sun (compared to the usual lightweight materials).
2. Use Timers
Most homes have a central heating system with programmable timers that give you the option to set the temperature to whatever you want.
If this is the case for you, program your heating system to turn up or turn on an hour before you wake up.
This allows for a gradual warm-up rather than a quick increase, (which would happen if you were to crank up the heat as soon as you wake up). This will ultimately save you some money and will make your morning much more enjoyable.
There are also some new programmable thermostats, called smart thermostats. They have been growing in popularity and can save you roughly 40% on your monthly heating bill.
Due to the convenient, easy to use technology, smart thermostats allow you to control the temperature from your cellphone or computer (like a remote) from wherever you are.
This means you can conveniently turn the heat on or off even when you’re not home. Also, if you forget to turn it off before you leave, simply press a button on your phone wherever you are.
3. Move Your Couch
When your coaches are blocking a vent or baseboard heater, they can create a nasty combination of warm temperatures, stagnant air, and high humidity. This can lead to mould, mildew, and a poorly ventilated home.
By moving your furniture out of the way, it allows the warm air to flow more freely, thus heating the home more efficiently.
It may sound like a minor adjustment, but a baseboard heater is cheap to run as long as it doesn’t have anything blocking it.
If you aren’t able to move your furniture, you could invest in an air defector. They can be a little pricy but would allow the air to be redirected to another safe area in your home while ensuring good air circulation.
4. Add Insulation To Your Roof
When the heat rises, you’re sure to be losing about 25% of your warmth through the roof due to inadequate insulation.
The best solution is to fix up any cracks or holes that might be in your attic and add the proper insulation. This might be the easiest and cheapest way to keep your home warm this winter.
5. Draft Proof Your Doors & Windows
This might be the most obvious tip but it’s actually one that many homeowners neglect.
Drafts can come from doors, windows, and even cracks in the floor. Thankfully, it’s relatively easy to fix on your own. Hardware stores sell many options for draft-proofing doors with self-adhesive seals made from rubber.
This will not only prevent drafts from sneaking in but also warmth from sneaking out.
Temporary double glazing is also an option if you want even more draft prevention on your windows.
This plastic covering will keep your home extra warm and cozy over the winter months. It’s then easily removed when winter is over, leaving nothing behind but a clean window.
Conclusion
This winter you and your family can look forward to a cozy home if you follow these 5 tips.
You can utilize the extra warmth from the sunlight pouring in and the central heating set just right. With your furniture situated in the perfect spot, you can allow for the best airflow of heat, straight to those chilly toes.
Plus, your roof will now be holding in more heat with proper insulation, along with the windows and doors being sealed off (preventing the chilly winds from seeping into your warm and cozy home).
The only downside to following these tips is you may not want to leave your warm home at all this winter.
