Energy efficient house – how to reduce heating costs in winter?

Lower heating costs in winter are valuable not only for your wallet, but also for the increasingly popular desire to protect the environment. What can you save on? How to approach the issue of heating during the winter, so that the bills do not scare us?

Why is it still worth saving on heating?

First of all because of the climate in which we live. We must be aware that in our latitude it is heating that consumes the lion’s share of the household budget. Heating season can last even half a year. The fact that we are dealing with global warming does not help, because it is difficult not to heat at home at zero degrees, when in the past at this time of year there were crackling frosts

Keeping the indoor temperature constant

The house can not be cold, but it is also not a reason for it to be excessively high temperatures. As a rule of thumb, optimum thermometer readings should be between 19 and 21 degrees Celsius. It is worthwhile to have a higher temperature in the bathroom and a lower one in the kitchen, where you cook anyway, but also in the bedroom, where higher readings are not very beneficial to health. When you leave home, you can lower the temperature, but you should not do it more than 4-5 degrees, so that you can make up for the loss later. All of this, however, results in significantly lower heating bills throughout the season

Take care of properly spaced radiators

Optimal thermal efficiency of radiators will be used only if they are not obstructed by anything when it comes to access from inside the apartment. It is therefore a big mistake to cover them with, for example, curtains or drapes, which often happens right under the window. It is also worth buying special screens, which are mounted behind the radiator, so that the heat does not have a tendency to escape in the wrong direction. This is important, especially in non-insulated buildings.

Insulation of the building is the basis

A skilfully executed thermo-modernisation is one of the key, if not the most important condition for lower payments for heating the building in winter. Without it, savings are possible, but very unlikely to be radical. Insulation of the building with foamed polystyrene, polyurethane foam or rock wool of various types is an extremely important element. You need to remember that not only the walls but also the attic should be covered with insulating material. The point is to eliminate the so-called “thermal bridges”. By this term we mean all those places that are not sufficiently insulated and through which heat escapes from the interior

Both at the stage of installation of thermal insulation and at its earlier design or purchase, it is worth relying on professionals. Why? First of all, in the practice of gluing Styrofoam or fitting rock wool it is difficult to avoid mistakes that result in thermal bridges. This in turn results in higher heat losses and heating bills. Improper selection of material for the building, for example, covering a wooden building with foamed polystyrene without the proper technology, can contribute to the subsequent dampening of wooden walls and big problems with the building

Replacement of heating system and window joinery

Heat loss can also happen by relying on an archaic heating system, an old boiler with low efficiency and equally faulty radiators. It is true that replacing such expensive equipment will certainly be felt in the wallet, but it will pay off in the long run. It is the same with window woodwork. If you have wooden windows in your home that are no longer airtight, it is difficult to even think about lower heating bills in the winter. If you replace them with plastic windows, you need to take care of proper ventilation, because it is an important safety requirement.