Do you have nightmares about your annual heating bill? So finally reduce them. Sometimes it’s not as hard as you’d imagine. “We clearly have the biggest gaps in heating when it comes to energy consumption,” says the environmental consultant in the podcast. It is possible to save money. Definitely today.
You can find the audio version of the energy saving podcast here:
Although it is called climate change, it can also mean exactly the kind of weather that is prevailing now. Severe frosts that last for several weeks, sometimes with snow, sometimes without it. Subconsciously, it makes us at least warm up at home. But neither your accounts nor you need it. “Usually, we tend to overheat our homes, at home we can easily reach 25 °C. At the same time, 20 would be enough, and 18 for sleeping,” describes Renata Placková, an environmental consultant from the Veronica Ecological Institute, in the iReceptář do úka podcast. “They are used to it being colder abroad. And when colleagues from Great Britain come to us, for example, who are used to wearing woolen suits in the winter, they immediately report that it is not too hot.” Turning the thermostat wheel is the easiest thing you can do to save money.
Download the temperature
Really. It is best at the beginning of the heating season, but also at the moment when the current severe frosts subside. Of course, it’s not about letting the house freeze, but that’s not going to happen. Turn down the heat more when you go to bed or leave the house. And in general, try to gradually reduce the temperature at home by at least two to three degrees, at least to the predicted twenty. It will benefit your wallet (lowering the temperature by two degrees means a saving of about 15%) and your health – an unheated body has better immunity.
Get dressed
Saving money on heating is certainly not about shivering in the cold at home. The feeling of thermal comfort is very important. But you don’t need to have it in the whole apartment or house, you need to have it around you,” explains the expert. That’s why, according to her, it’s much more effective to dress warmly than to heat up unnecessarily.
Warm socks or house shoes, a woolen sweater or perhaps today’s popular onesie – a warm and soft overall. All of this ends up being much cheaper than a full-on thermostat.
Seal the holes
Some say it’s better to do it before the season – and of course you’ll save the most. But when it’s already cold and windy, you’ll find it easier and faster. Windows, doors, but also places where you might not think of it at first glance. “It can blow, for example, through the letter slot in the front door, and it will greatly reduce your feeling of thermal comfort,” points out Renata Placková. Find all such places and seal them appropriately.
Do not cover the heater
Drapes, curtains, but also furniture close to the radiator. All this blocks the free flow of air and the heat is then unnecessarily lost from the room. “A closed curtain pushes the warm air back to the window or the wall, but you definitely don’t want it there,” adds the expert. “Then you spend more, but you have less heat inside.”
Let nature warm you
While it’s a good idea to close the windows at night – and if you have outdoor blinds, be sure to use them in the winter – leave them open during the day. Especially when the sun is shining. Because the fact that the rays lean into the windows does not mean only a change in feeling. At that moment, the sun really warms the interior as well. It’s also the perfect time to ventilate. Just don’t forget to close the windows again. Don’t let the heat escape you unnecessarily.
