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Insulating your home from the winter cold
by Mercedes Sánchez
As the temperatures drop and we switch on the heating, electricity and gas consumption in the home rises accordingly. However, it is easy to keep bills to a minimum if our homes are well insulated.
The experts believe that the temperature of a home in winter should not exceed 20ºC. If the temperatures rise above this amount, the heating bills will be excessive. Insulating your may me costly at first, but in the long run the money you save is considerable.
Thermal insulation
Placing panels on the roof and on the interior and exterior walls of a home is a significant expense. It is best to seek the advice of an expert, who will advise you in accordance to the square meters of your home, the hours of sunlight and the orientation. However, if you cannot afford such expert help, you can always install a false ceiling of plaster, which will concentrate the heat thanks to the chamber of air created between the real ceiling and the false one.
Doors and windows
A home tends to cool down much faster than it takes to heat it. For this reason one of the main priorities should be to prevent the heat from leaking out. Check all your doors and windows; look for small cracks through which the air could pass and seal them with silicone or plaster, whichever is most appropriate. Also check that the windows close perfectly, fully insulating the room in question.
Wooden windows insulatemore and better than those of aluminium, but if you have the latter in your home, make sure they are fitted with the thermal bridge system whereby insulating bars separate the exterior from the interior of the window. This prevents condensation from forming on the windows and ensures that the heat does not escape out of the room.
Blinds
Finally, and no less vital, you should carefully check the blinds and the boxes in which they are stored. Often, the storage box is badly sealed and has small cracks through which the cold can enter. Also, check that the blind slats are in perfect condition otherwise they wont fit properly together.
It is very important to use blinds in winter. You can leave them up all day but when the sun goes down you should lower them to prevent the cold air from forming condensation on you on the panes of your window.
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