As the months of autumn and winter approach, most homeowners worry about ways to keep the home warm. More so in this period when energy prices have more than doubled! If you have a central heating system, you know how expensive the energy bills can be during the cold months.
When you don’t have a heating system, you need to figure out how to keep your home cozy and warm.
Of course not everyone can afford to have a running central heating system. During cold weather, the heating system accounts for 70 percent of all household energy bills in the US.
About 11 percent of households in the UK cannot afford to run a central heating system during the winter months. This comes at the same time when over 95% of UK home rely on central heating systems.
Here are some tips on heating a house without a central heating system.
11 Tips to Keep your House Warm
1. Utilize the Sunshine
Admittedly, the sunshine in winter isn’t as hot as in summer. However, you can utilize the sun’s slight heat to keep your space warm.
All you need to do is draw your curtains or blinds when the sun is out and make sure to draw them back as soon as the sun disappears. By doing so, you make sure to retain all the heat.
You can also buy some heat-retaining curtains such that the little heat your space absorbs from the sun gets retained.
2. Hot Water Bottles for your Bed
We all know the feeling of getting into bed, and the beddings are cold – it’s very uncomfortable.
You will most likely have a hot water bottle or two lying around your house. You can use the bottles to make your sleep a bit comfortable by warming your bed.
You need to pour some hot water into the bottles for this idea. Make sure to secure the top properly to avoid any spillage.
Place the bottles in your bed 15 – 20 minutes before you go to sleep. By the time you cozy up in the bed, it will be warm and comfortable all through.
3. Get yourself Some Warm Clothes
The idea behind wearing warm clothes is to heat the body and not the house. Our bodies can retain a lot of heat, making it possible to survive in a house without any form of heating.
You have to wear layers of clothing to prevent any heat loss for maximum effectiveness.
If you have concerns regarding your comfort while wearing layers, you can find some warm clothes such as hoodies, thick pants, and jackets.
The good thing about warm clothes is that they work both indoors and outdoors.
4. Conceal your Chimney
Most homes have chimneys, but very few of them are functional. The top part of a chimney is open and leads to a lot of heat loss from your home.
During cold weather, the aim is to retain as much heat as possible and prevent cold air from infiltrating into your space.
It’s possible to block chimney holes using an insulator or a chimney balloon. When the weather changes to a bit warm, you can always remove the blocking material until the next cold season.
5. Use Rugs/Carpets
Cold bare floors can make a home uncomfortable in cold weather. You don’t have to spend an arm and a leg to make the floors a bit bearable.
Simple mats, rugs, or carpets can work wonders to keep your home warm.
If you have toddlers crawling on the floors, the rugs will also come in handy to protect the little ones from the cold.
Your pets will also appreciate the warmth and comfort provided by the mats.
6. Insulate your home
If your house isn’t insulated, you could spend a lot of money trying to heat the space.
Heat loss happens through small cracks and crevices on the joists, floors, window frames, door frames, and roofing. Investing in good insulation can keep your home warm in cold months and cool in hot months.
There are many insulation types, from spray foam, mineral wool, fiberglass to cellulose.
Each of these has some advantages and disadvantages. You only need to weigh and decide on the best for your needs.
7. Appliances can heat the home
Simply watching your television can keep your living room warm. Having your refrigerator switched on can also keep your space warm.
Ideally, the heat emitted by these appliances is sufficient to keep a little space warm and comfortable.
8. Check on your Radiators
Even as much as you don’t want to use central heating, you have no choice but to take care of your radiators. Otherwise, the home will become cold and unbearable.
One of the leading causes of inefficient radiators is trapped air. Therefore, you need to regularly bleed out the radiators so that any trapped air can escape.
It would be best to buy a bleeding key from your local stores to do this.
Use the key to open up the radiator, and you’ll notice some hissing sound as the air escapes. Make sure to close the radiator as soon as the first drops of water start to trickle.
As you handle the radiator, make sure it’s switched off and cooled because you don’t want to get burned by the hot water.
It would be best to make sure the radiator functions as it should and avoid placing cold clothes on top.
Usually, most people tend to place damp clothes on the radiator to dry faster. In cold weather, doing so could prevent even heat distribution, making the house very cold.
9. Use Plug Drafts
Are you experiencing very cold winds that make your house uncomfortable? These drafts could be infiltrating through the spaces on the windows and door frames.
There are so many cheap solutions to this problem.
Firstly, you can use some weather stripping tape to seal the spaces. The tape sells in various sizes, so it’s crucial to measure the space that needs filling.
Weatherstripping tape sticks into place and instantly stops any drafts from getting into your home.
Alternatively, if you don’t have enough money to buy the tape, you can improvise some insulating materials like blankets. Look for those blankets or towels that you don’t use and fit them snug into the spaces.
This is one of the cheapest and effective ways to keep your home warm and free from wind.
10. Make Use of the Fireplace
The fireplace gives a home an aesthetic look and keeps it warm. Lighting some fire can help you get through the cold weather without using electricity for heating.
Here are some ideas on space heating.
You don’t have to go for standard wood logs that are a bit pricey; you can opt for cow dung fuel or even coal.
11. Candles
Anything that burns emits some heat, and so does a candle. If you have a huge space that needs heating, a candle may not be as effective.
However, if you live in a small space like an attic room, candles can give you comfort from chilling weather.
Consider buying the slow-burning candles to avoid having to burn several in a single night. In any case, one candle in a room isn’t enough to produce enough heat to warm it.
It would help if you considered placing several at various locations in the room.
If you have pets or curious toddlers, candles are not the best method to heat a cold room as they could fall and cause a fire.
Conclusion
You can heat your home without using your central heating system.
Understandably, heating systems are expensive to run, and not everyone can afford them. More so if your central heating system is an old one, the low efficiencies amplifies your cost.
However, modern heating systems have remarkable benefits from their high efficiencies.
This guide provides alternative methods of heating your home without spending a fortune.