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Warming Your House During Winter
The term ‘old house’ may mean very different things to different people. To some, a house built in the 19th century is old. To others, a 100-year-old home might still be considered new. Today we’ll focus on dwellings over 50 years old because the methods of heating them differ from newer homes built with energy conservation in mind.
Older Homes
An older home may be harder to keep warm, but there are plenty of ways you can help stay warm this winter for cheap and even with no heater. When examining an older home for heating purposes, there are several things you need to keep in mind:
- Ceilings and walls tend to be thinner than in modern homes, which reduces the amount of insulation inside the shell of the building. The exterior walls can lose 10% or more of their total insulating power compared to today’s homes.
- Houses of earlier decades didn’t have central heating systems with separate furnaces in each room. They had to rely on one large furnace with pipes that would be placed in the walls or ceilings of various rooms. These vertical radiator systems were inefficient because they burned more fuel than necessary and lost much of their heat through the wall or ceiling before reaching the people who needed it. The result was cold rooms where you would spend most of your money on heating when at home.
- Because older homes didn’t have built-in heating ducts, it was common to install a cast iron or steel furnace in the basement and run metal pipes between the walls. The main problem with this system was that all of your hot air would be forced into one room. It was therefore not an efficient way to heat your home.
Newer Homes
If you have a well-insulated newer home that is well-proportioned and built on a north-south axis with no large overhangs, the most significant factors in keeping the temperature comfortable indoors may be windows and doors. For summertime cooling, make sure these items can open completely by removing any storm windows or interior window coverings such as drapes.
This allows air to circulate easily through your house, so you can turn down or turn off your HVAC system completely. You’ll need to use an insulated coat on windows and doors that allows outside air in during the winter months. It’s not easy fitting standard windows with insulated glass replacements or unique window frames. It will take several hours of work for each window. For big-picture changes like this, call a contractor to help save time and money in the long term. If you go without insulation too long, the exterior surfaces of the building envelope may start showing up problems like cracking paint or peeling wallpaper — all signs indicating less energy efficiency.
So, what do you do if you live in an older house with its inherent disadvantages? To understand how to warm up old houses, let’s look at how some homeowners manage to keep their houses warm in winter.
Keeping An Old House Warm In Winter
Using Programmable Thermostats
If you have an older home, your thermostat settings may be different than what you’re used to. A programmable thermostat can assist you in saving money on your energy bill by automatically adjusting your home’s temperature. This depends on how often you are at home.
Caulking and Weatherstripping
These are two simple ways to reduce air leakage in your home. These include weatherstripping, which is a material placed around door frames and windows to keep warm air in and cold air out. Moreover, caulking is a material used to seal off any cracks or gaps in between walls and floors.
Adding Rugs
Rugs not only cover the floor but also add a layer of insulation. Having area rugs on hardwood floors can be an effective way to stay warm in your living room.
Putting Up Extra Insulation
The heating settings for old homes are different from what we are using today. In the case of old homes, the above tips may work for you. However, it is still possible to insulate your old house further and keep it warm. In this instance, you might want to hire someone experienced with older homes to find problem areas and seal them off to reduce air leakage.
Using Space Heaters Sparingly
If you don’t need too much heat, then space heaters seem like they could save the day. You should keep an eye on them and make sure they don’t get too hot. You might also consider turning up the heat in only one room at a time to save money.
For instance, if you are only experiencing cold in one specific room, then using a space heater may be a more efficient option. There will be no need to turn up the heat in your entire house. Again, just make sure to keep an eye on it and don’t let it get too hot.
Making Long-Term Changes
While it can be difficult, there are still steps you can take to improve insulation in your home and reduce heating costs. For example, suppose you have windows that allow air leakages in your house (ancient houses). In that case, replacing or adding window coverings will help reduce energy loss through these house areas. As such, this will save you a lot of costs over the years.
Using Residual Heat
Another tip that you can use to keep your house warm is to utilise residual heat. For example, say you have a fireplace in your home, make sure it’s clean and ready for use during the winter months. If you don’t have a fireplace, there are many things that you can do around your home to help save on energy costs, such as replacing regular light bulbs with LED ones.
This will reduce the number of watts that come from various appliances and reduce their overall wattage or power usage. This will help reduce the amount of money you need to heat your homes and living spaces.
Using Blankets
If you are browsing for an easy way to save money on heating your home, then purchasing a blanket might be the solution. You can place these blankets over doors or windows that may cause air leaks that allow warmed air to escape.
This is another simple yet effective tip that will help reduce energy costs and keep you warm at the same time. Remember that you should only use this in a small room because it could contribute to overheating if the room is too big.
How To Warm Your Old Loft
So, you’ve moved into a lovely old home and want to take advantage of the high ceilings and crown molding, but your halls are drafty, and morning showers leave you shivering. What can you do about it? Your friends tell you that insulation is expensive. You should just spend less time in the shower and avoid drafts.
The other option is buying a costly second heating system and hiring a costly contractor to install it (in whatever room that has become too cold). But what if there was another way? Here we list ten quick tips for keeping your old loft warm without breaking the bank or calling any professionals.
Insulate All Window Sills
If you have window sills outside, then chances are they are allowing drafts to creep inside your house. With a tiny bit of work, you can insulate them yourself and save hundreds on heating bills.
Seal All Gaps Between Window Pane and Frame
Gaps in window frames are another significant source of drafty windows. Warm air will escape through these openings if you do not seal them properly, which means that you will be paying more to keep your old house warm in winter. Use some caulk or weather stripping to seal up all gaps completely.
Seal All Drafts Around Doors and Windows
If you have noticed areas around doors and windows where cold air is coming through, use insulation strips or door sweeps to close off any tiny cracks between door frames and floors. You can also try weatherproofing the entire door with sealant.
Weatherstrip All Doors
You can weatherstrip any gaps in your doors by yourself for very little money and without a lot of time or effort. If you want to be thorough, consider removing all the thresholds. This will give you a very tight seal along the bottom edge of your door. It also allows you to use a double-sided strip instead of a threshold. Also, replace damaged weatherstripping around interior doors (you should do this anyway if you have drafts).
Insulate Ceiling and Floor Joists
Use fiberglass insulation batts or dense foam boards between joists on basement ceilings and under floors/foundations, especially if there are signs that they leak air. One of the signs, in this case, may be slight discolouration on the floor or walls of the basement.
Insulate Exterior Walls
Insulating exterior walls can reduce heating costs by up to 15% in some cases. There are two ways to do this. The cheapest is building a “blanket” wall where insulation is sandwiched between wood panels. Another option is to fill the cavity walls with dense foam before backfilling. However, your soil must not contain many rocks that could damage or puncture the blower wheel when installing the thick foam in the air space behind the brick or stone veneer.
Use Dense Insulation in Your Attic and Crawl Space
Applying dense insulation to attic floors and crawl spaces reduces air infiltration significantly and saves you money on heating and cooling. It also makes your home far more comfortable to live in year-round.
Install a Chimney Balloon
Chimney balloons are inexpensive and quick to install. They can stop up to 90% of the cold air that seeps up your chimney when the fireplace is not in use.
Hang Thermal Curtains
Thermal curtains are designed to keep the heat in during the winter months and out during summer. You can easily buy them quite cheaply, and they are easy to install. You just hang them like regular curtains.
Get a Heating Pad for Your Loft
If all the other tips fail to work for you, you can buy a heater specifically for lofts or attics. These are relatively inexpensive and will help to keep your entire loft warm, even if it is quite large.
Install Double Glazing and Draught Stripping
If possible, install double glazing and draught stripping around all windows and doors in your home, as well as cavity wall insulation. This will remove some of the excess cold air from entering your home as it’ll be contained within your walls by insulated cavities! This is a really quick way to significantly decrease drafts coming into your house.
Choose a Heating Option
Look into the heating options available to you. There are two types of heaters that you can use in older homes with lofts. These are gas and electric heaters. You should not use oil heaters as they release moisture back into your attic. If you opt for a gas radiator heater, make sure that the loft above is protected by insulation, as carbon monoxide poisoning is possible if any deposits occur.
Oil or electricity radiators are safer choices because condensation won’t form around the furnace itself. There isn’t just one thing that you can do to help keep your house warm this winter. You have to consider every aspect of your home, from insulation around windows and doors, adding insulation during renovation, finding problem areas so that you can seal them off, and much more!
What may work out for one may not work for another. It’s all about how much time and effort each tip would take and the cost-effectiveness of each measure. Start by trying out a few of these tips and see what works best for you and your home.
Remember that even if you don’t have an old house, there are many ways to save money on your energy bill during winter. For starters, try using a blanket or sleeping bag to reduce heat loss when in bed or when sitting still in the living room watching tv. In addition, make sure your house is well-sealed from air leaks. Cover any window air conditioners with insulated drapes and remove storm windows from exterior doors.
Seek Professional Assistance
If you have a home on the older side of the spectrum that has been remodeled, check for insulation around plumbing pipes, electrical outlets, and junction boxes. Adding insulation during renovation may be more difficult than adding it as part of new construction because existing materials need to remain undisturbed. So, always consult an experienced professional contractor before making changes.
For the greatest impact on energy savings, you should have an experienced contractor or gas fitter to help you find problem areas so they can be sealed off. If your home was built before 1950, there might be several areas where the insulation fell out over time – this makes up about 30% of total air leakage in homes.
