With so many ways to watch all that you’ve created falter and fade, it is good to know that some can be preserved.
Following a handful of tips and guidelines can help you prevent heat loss in your home.
The bonus for applying these tips now is that they also work to preserve your cool in the summer months.
So, let’s get started on what to look for and how to shore up the home energy investment.
Home Heat Loss
You might ask how much heat am I losing? The problem is, sadly common enough that calculators have been designed to give you an estimate on this.
Fortunately, that means you can also compare your energy bills before and after to see first-hand how effective changes can be.
1. Insulation Installation
Insulation does a lot of the work to keep heat in a home. Not all insulation is created equally, though. Ratings for insulation indicate what environments it works best in and conditions it is meant to handle.
Older insulations use materials that may be rephased out for a lot of reasons. The most common is efficiency and the most frightening is toxicity.
Changing out or adding insulation to areas in the ceiling, walls and even below the floors can trap heat longer. Replacing insulation can be an expensive change, so consider this as the bulk tactic.
2. Stop Leaks
If you have ever sat up at night and heard the wind whistling through the house, you know that gaps exist. Most commonly these are found at door and window seams.
Adding insulation materials can be a quick fix for these issues. An easy solution is to add calk or epoxy that fits the gaps. Doors can have foam runners placed underneath.
More serious issues may call for fixtures replacements. Door frames may need to be resized to deal with warping and wear.
Heat loss through windows, on the other hand, can occur through weak window materials retaining less heat in general. Take a look at strong weather-resistant and A-ratings windows.
3. Reflect and Direct
Radiators are notorious for heat loss. A lot of the energy they create immediately goes into the wall or the ceiling.
Installing reflective materials behind and above the radiator directs the heat into the house.
4. Close Vents
Closing vents in rooms not being used or that people aren’t currently in keeps the heat in the areas where it is felt. This limits the heat energy spent on rooms where it will just dissipate without helping.
In a home with AC vents and radiant heating, the vents just bring in drafts and should be closed off when the seasons change.
5. Check the Floor
Types of heat loss through the floor confounds some people. The rule of thumb is obvious, warm air rises and cold air goes down.
Gaps in floorboards and lack of insulation in the flooring are prime places for the not-so-warm outer air to decide to mingle with the inner air. Fixing floors and adding insulating material can have dramatic heat loss reductions.
6. Change the Heat
As opposed to the other 5 ways to protect your home from escaping heat, this is about energy loss. Gas is one of the most common types of heat energy used in Ireland.
Gas heaters can be effective but often use older pipes and vents to transfer heat. Newer technology and innovations get swept aside when typical units can be mass produced.
A Healthy Glow
Keeping your home warm and limiting your heat loss takes only a few steps to look for problems and shore up your defenses.
For expert help in detecting issues and finding professional solutions, contact us.
