It is getting colder. Here some tips and tricks to keep yourself warm.
We all know the extra coat, vest, and the sheep’s wool slippers on your feet. Now here are some tips that are not that well known.
Like radiation, ventilation with cold air, and preventing heat loss through the chimney.. Check it out and save heat, CO2 and money, and take care for the Polar bear.
Radiation
Breeding farms use 50 or 75 Watt infra red lamps to breed chickens, because with radiation it is easy and effective to make something really warm. And it is nonsense to heat up the whole space with convection if only the eggs should be warmed.
So you have cold feet? Or where ever you feel chilly, you can do the same and put such a lamp at your feet (or whereever you feel chilly) and in a well insulated house you don’t have to use your central heating. The lamp costs about 10 Euro so pay back time is some days.
Ventilation, fresh dry air!
Heating the air is easy. But heating waterdamp, costs much energy. People exhale lots of water damp, filling the air with it. So when you are a day at home, ventilate every day. Ventilate with the outside air, because cold air is not humid, it doesnot have much water in it. So especially on a cold winter day, it is extra economic to open your windows for 5 or 10 minutes a day, and exchange all the humid air for fresh dry air.
Start at the top
Heat is like large organizations. If you really need improvement, start at the top. At the top of your house you will find the warmest air. So close the doors down, but also close the doors to the rooms of the next floor. Especially be aware that the attic is well closed.
And if you start insulating, then start with your roof.
Close the chimney of your open fire place
Warm air goes up. If you have a fire place and you don’t use it, make sure you close it. There are ‘chimney balloons’ you can put in your chimney hole over your fire place. You blow it up until there is no air ‘leaking’ along the balloon.
Decentralize your heating
Many houses have central heating. It means that your complete house will be heated if the living room (with the thermostat) gets colder.
Decentralize your heating system by closing all convectors in the various rooms. Your plumber or heating technician can sophisticate this system by installing thermostat valves on every convector in the house, and some added technology. If you use these convectors only when you need the heat there, it can save you very much money.
Turn this thermostat valve to 0 in every room except for the room where you are, and you save big money.
want to learn more: Low Tech Magazine;