How to make a room warmer? Tips to heat a room and save money

Every year, during the heating season, tenants of apartments in multi-hall buildings face the same dilemma: how to heat a room to keep it warm, but at the same time not to overpay. It turns out that it is enough to implement only a few simple solutions so that the heating season does not mean increased expenses.

In late autumn and throughout the winter, an average of 70 % of all fees related to the maintenance of an apartment in a block of flats is spent on heating! For a 60 square meter unit, this could be over £ 70 per month. There is a misconception that in the case of heating, the situation is zero-one: either it's warm, but you have to pay more, or you pay less, but then the temperature in the rooms is too low.

1. Tip Close the thermostats before going to work or school

Remember to close the thermostats before going to work or school. This allows you to save up to 30 percent. heating costs. Going on vacation is another situation where the heating should be turned off in order to reduce bills when you are away.

2. Tip Check tightness of windows and doors - heat usually escapes through gaps.

 It happens, especially in older buildings, that the heat "escapes" from the apartment, so maintaining the right temperature is associated with the need to turn the thermostats on the radiators as much as possible. Then the bill is still for a large amount, although the thermometer shows the recommended 21 degrees Celsius. This is because heat is lost due to leaky windows and doors (including balcony doors). Due to this type of leakage, up to 40 percent may be lost. Any gaps between the window and its frame or door and frame must be removed as soon as possible. Sometimes, however, a better solution (although requiring one-time higher financial outlays) is to replace the doors and windows with new, fully sealed ones. In winter, you should not cover the windows during the day, so that the sunlight can effectively heat the rooms in the premises. However, it is absolutely necessary to lower the roller shutters after dark, as this prevents the temperature from escaping outside. The solution to the problem of cool floors is to buy thick carpets.

3. Tip How to ventilate the room in winter.

In winter, you also need to ventilate the apartment regularly, but in a skillful way: do not unseal the windows and leave the so-called microventilation for the whole day, because in this way heat will be lost. It is better to turn off the radiators for 5-10 minutes and open the window wide so that the room is aired well during this time. In this way, ventilation will be effective, heating costs will not increase, and the room will not cool down.

4. Tip Not cover radiators with anything.

The key to efficient and economical heating of the apartment in winter is to ensure that the radiators are not covered with anything. They should not be clogged with furniture or covered with long, thick curtains, as this restricts the circulation of warm air in the room. The same is not putting to drying laundry on radiators.

The installation of heat reflecting screens under and on the wall behind the radiator fireplaces or other heating will also effectively affect the thermal efficiency in the apartment - such a foil will direct the temperature generated by the radiator or heaters towards the center of the room. Of course, you have to remember to bleed the radiators before the season - air-laden ones will not heat up on their entire surface. In newer types of radiators, venting is a simple activity that the household members can carry out on their own. For older models, this can be requested from the building administration staff.

In the case of people living in multi-apartment buildings where individual metering using heat cost allocators has been introduced, it is worth paying attention to the indications displayed on the device screen. Knowing the amount of heat energy used in the previous season (it is given on the billing print and the allocator's display), the household members will be able to compare it with the current consumption on an ongoing basis and introduce pro-saving behavior and solutions.