Good home insulation is key to keeping our homes safe from the cold in winter (and from the heat in summer). However, the solutions usually involve works at home that are not available to everyone, either due to budget problems or because a rental home is inhabited. Fortunately we have at our disposal a series of tricks and strategies that allow us to insulate ourselves from the cold when it comes upon us.
A good starting point when dealing with a problem is to identify it. And in this case, something that we can identify relatively easily are the openings through which currents can appear that take the heat from our home with them.
These openings can range from the most obvious, such as fireplaces, to others that are more difficult to perceive, such as the spaces between the doors and their frames. Covering these holes can be relatively simple, just put a towel on the doors of our homes most susceptible to heat loss, although there are numerous types of weather stripping for a more practical result.
But not all the heat escapes through holes to the outside. Heat also radiates through walls and doors, and especially windows. Today there are numerous windows specifically designed to keep temperatures controlled but in this task we have other elements that can help us: shutters, blinds and curtains will reduce the amount of heat we lose through our windows.
During the nights we must close the windows as far as possible, although during the day letting in the light is also important. Sunlight, even dim winter light, can help us slightly increase the temperature in our home.
Heat can also escape through the walls. If our walls are not sufficiently insulating in themselves, there are some resources to reduce heat loss through them. One of them involves reaching for aluminum foil (and not exactly to place it on our heads).
Although the aluminum foil we use in the kitchen can work for us, there are specialized options for use in buildings. They can be especially useful for placing them between radiators and exterior walls to make the energy emanating from the stove “bounce” into the interior of our house.
The floors are not the area through which the most heat escapes from our house, but we have a very simple way to reduce the loss on that side: the carpets. The loss of heat through the floors of the home can be around 10% of the total heat that escapes from our homes (little compared to the 35% that can be lost through the walls, for example, but avoidable).
The loss may depend on several factors such as the material with which it is made or the floor on which we find ourselves. It is not only about the environmental heat that is given off by there, but also the sensation that it transmits to us if we walk barefoot or in socks around the house.
Controlling the air inside our homes is also important. Close the doors of the rooms we are inhabiting at all times it can help us keep the temperature controlled inside our home, spending less energy on heating the home and improving our comfort.
Of course, all these tips should not make us forget that ventilating the house properly is also important in winter. Generating air currents throughout the house we can ventilate correctly in about ten minutes, avoiding losing an excessive amount of heat. Doing it during the hottest hours of the day is also a good idea.
The last consideration to take into account is that The ultimate goal of all this is to keep us sheltered from the cold.. That is why it is a good idea to accompany these measures with others that allow us to maintain our body temperature at a comfort point. In this sense, staying active or keeping warm can be strategies that help us get through the winter without getting too cold and without leaving our budget in energy expenditure.
Image | Amin Hasani
