Home Improvement: Energy Saving Tips for the Cold

Winters make us think the obvious every year-Ways to keep ourselves warm! ‘Warm houses’ translate into ‘warm us’ and ‘warm us’ translate into ‘happy&sheltered us’.  Winterizing our homes not only helps us keep our houses warm but also at times provide us with energy saving and budget friendly design options. These are the kinds that we will talk about today. So get ready to save some energy using these very simple tips.

Home Improvement: Energy Saving Tips for the Cold

Image Via: Crisp Architects

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Thick Curtains & Sunlight

Sounds ironical! Doesn’t it? Well, it isn’t! What I mean to say is that one must let in lots of sun during the day and then trap the heat for the evening. Heavy curtains can help you achieve this  as they prevent heat loss through the windows and help in energy saving. If you do not wish to invest in new curtains, you can just add a layer of thermal lining to your existing curtains.  Also using curtains in door openings in addition to the windows can help a lot to trap the heat in. By the way, rugs also form very interesting door layers!

Image Via: Musso Design Group

Double Glazing

Double glazing is perhaps one of the most energy efficient ways to winterize your home. It can be expensive but is very effective in keeping the heat in. One cheap DIY technique involves sticking a film with the help of a double sided tape on your existing windows. Of course, it prevents you from opening the windows without taking off the film but who wants to open the windows in winters anyway!

Image Via: Merricks

Air Draught Excluders

Little air draughts from here and there can undo all your house warming efforts. Seal the window gaps using special sealant tapes, use keyhole covers for the little holes in the doors and use innovative ‘door snakes’ to keep the rooms warm. You will be amazed at how much heat loss you can prevent and the amount of energy saving you can do by filling in these small holes and gaps.

Image Via: Adrienne Chinn Design

Floor Layering

Adding layers has long been an effective way to trap in the warmth. We do that all the time with our clothing too! That thin layer of trapped air in between two layers of coverings can work wonders. It works great especially with the floors. Rugs and carpets were made to do just that – Keep your feet cosy in the cold winter months and by the way keep the room warmer too.

Image Via: AMW Design Studio

Prevent Chimney Leaks

Your fireplace might be keeping you warm when in use but it is bringing in the cold outside air when not in use. The colder air is heavier and finds a way into your home via the chimney vents. Chimney balloons are a very effective way of preventing cold air from coming inside but you have to be very careful about taking them off when wanting to use your fireplace. Another effective way is to install fireplace shutters that prevent the cold air from barging in.

Image Via: Elizabeth Dinkel

Winterizing your home means keeping your home warm using energy saving techniques and home decor ideas. Besides the ones mentioned above there are a few more that can come in handy. Simple ideas like keeping your furniture away from vents, keeping unused rooms locked during winters, using tin foil behind the radiators, changing your ceiling fan settings to winter settings etc can contribute in a big way. It would be nice to hear from you, as to how you winterize your home!

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