A few winter helpful hints from Timber Composite Door –
Heat – Where does it go? The graphic below gives a pretty good representation of where your precious heat can escape from your home and if you simple substitute the word “money” for the word “heat” the whole issue takes on a somewhat depressing feel.
The nights are drawing in fast and frost is being mentioned in the weather forecasts – oh joy! More chances to burn money – as the weather starts to turn we spend less time outdoors and more time indoors where hopefully we will be warmer and more comfortable – but that comfort comes at the cost of our heating bills. With so many grants now available many people have taken the precaution of installing cavity and loft insulation and everyone knows the benefits of double glazing but how many of us actually realised that up to 15% of heat loss could be because of an old or badly fitted front door As warm air leaks out it is replaced with cold air, which is pretty similar to a ‘wind chill’ effect, a draughty house means a warmer overall temperature will be needed to feel comfortable due to the constantly changing air movement.
The most telling signs that your residence isn’t energy efficient enough are noticeable draughts and cold spots and images like the one below will become commonplace in the newspapers and on TV over the coming months showing in infra-red detail just how the heat is escaping.
So what can you do to ensure your comfort for the coming months – the obvious answers are insulate and or replace but it all depends what your budget will stretch too – from our perspective here at Timber Composite Doors we would recommend that you take a visit to our web site where you will find a stunning selection of new Composite Solid timber core front doors which are guaranteed to reduce the heat loss through your front door significantly –normally by at least 10%
Replacing your front doors will make a huge difference, eradicating much of this heat loss and better retaining the warmth produced by your heating system.
There are always simple ways to reduce heat loss some of which are so obvious that we rarely consider them –
Thicker curtains – the thicker they are the more of the heat they will retain plus they will equally reduce the impact of any draught from your windows and remember to draw them as soon as the light begins to fade if you want to maximise your heat loss, ensuring there are no gaps when they are closed. If you cannot run to a new front door you wish to consider hanging a similar heavy duty curtain across the interior of your front door.
Re arrange your furniture – radiators work best when they can heat up the air around them rather than the back of your sofa or any other piece of furniture that obstructs them. As radiators have to sides why would you want to heat the wall behind them – try draping a piece of aluminium foil behind your radiator to reflect more heat into the room.
Draught seal – there are literally hundreds of cost effective products available and if they reduce your heat loss even by only a few % they will probably more than pay for themselves.
When did you last have, your boiler serviced – if its working efficiently it will be your best guarantee to lower bills – plus it could just avoid the nightmare scenario of suffering a boiler breakdown in the midst of the coldest winter weather in living memory. If it is a really old boiler you may qualify for one of the assisted replacement schemes and a new boiler should last 12-15 years when you have it checked annually.
Your wardrobe – It is winter so stop walking around the house in shorts, T shirts and flip flops – dressing appropriately with a few more layers, particularly socks may mean you can turn the heating down a few degrees and still be comfortable
If each of our suggestions saves 5% on your efficiency that could be a good 20% saving and what better way could there be of using the money than investing in a new front door from Timber Composite Doors for that guaranteed additional 10-12% further heat loss saving.
