As you have probably seen by now, Europe and many other places are struggling with record-high energy prices as we are approaching the winter season.
as Russia invaded Ukraine, the situation got worse and worse.
Natural gas supplies to the continent, which have long been used for factories, electricity generation, and home heating, have been halted by Russia.
furthermore, shutting down nuclear plants in Germany and the slow growth of renewable energies have only added up to this problem.
Keeping your house warm during this winter can be challenging but fortunately, there are cheap ways to keep your house warm during this energy crisis without paying a fortune to utility companies.
How does the heating work in the house?
Understanding how the heat works in the house before warming it, will save you more money than you think.
Heat will move wherever there is a difference in temperature.
Many people assume that because hot air rises, most heat loss is through the ceiling. This is not necessarily correct.
Heat moves in any direction , up, down or sideways, as long as it is moving from a warm spot to a colder one.
5 tips to keep your house warm for cheap
1. Maximize the insulation of the house
Insulation by far is the most important step to keeping your house warm during this winter.
Insulating your walls, roof, and other places will help you keep the heat inside and minimize the amount of energy you need to warm up the house.
Excellent insulation means less heating is needed to keep a comfortable temperature in the room.
Insulation covers the house with a layer of materials that reduce the rate of heat loss.
Heat can be lost through the air gap via convection and radiation in large empty areas like wall cavities.
Insulation splits the air space into numerous little pockets of still air, which are not able to transfer the heat to other places.
2. Cover your floors
An uncovered floor can contribute 10-20% to heat loss in a house, and it also feels much colder underfoot.
A thick, high-quality carpet contains millions of tightly woven fibers that trap air as well as have a low conduction rate. Therefore, When you turn on the heater, the hot air stays inside the room, and cold air from below won’t get in.
It has been proven that carpet provides around 10 times more insulation than hard floors.
The installation of carpet will reduce your energy bills and make your home more comfortable in general.
3. Cover your windows with curtains
When curtains are closed, a cold window is less likely to exchange air with the rest of the room.
Heat loss can be reduced by around 40% with high-quality curtains, particularly if they are floor length and close to walls and windows.
4. Rearrange Your Furniture
If you place a couch or other large piece of furniture in front of your radiator, it will absorb a large portion of the heat radiated by the radiator.
This means you’ll have to run your heater for longer to warm up your room.
Moving your sofa slightly away from the radiator allows the heat to circulate more easily and it will warm up the room faster than you thought.
5. fill the cracks in your window frames
No matter the age of the building cracks around windows can happen to any house.
Poor window installation and settling of a house over time can cause the windows to crack.
Small Cracks in windows or doors can easily make the heat escape from the room.
Filling them up with any type of foam is pretty easy so there is no reason not to do it.
In conclusion
Knowing how to Keep your house warm during an energy crisis can be helpful for many people, including those who are also suffering from financial crises as well.
Too much reliance on fossil fuels has caused many problems for the planet such as the ones we are facing right now and unfortunately, greed and power among politicians are only making the problems even worse.
The good news is we can always hope for a better future for humanity by teaching our kids greenways to live without destroying the planet and everyone on it.
