A wood fire and simple lamps create a magical ambiance, while saving energy
Make your home feel warmer without turning up the heat. Conserve energy in a more eco-friendly way and help prevent load-shedding simply by following these tips:
Mind the gaps
Draughts of cold air that come in under the door or through tiny gaps in window panes can make your home feel much colder, and account for 15-25 percent of heat loss in your home. Seal things off by placing a sandbag doorstop or rolled bath towel against a draughty door, and use weather stripping to seal windows. A gap filler will close the cracks in walls quickly and effectively.
Keep the warmth in with heavy curtains
Winter sun is surprisingly warm. Leave curtains open during the day to let the sunshine in, allowing natural warmth into your home. As the sun begins to set, close heavy curtains to prevent the heat from escaping through your windows.
Close off any rooms that are not in use
Keep the doors closed of any rooms you’re not using. This helps to isolate and heat up the lived-in areas of your home by not wasting energy on heating rooms not in use.
Use your ceiling fan
Most people think of fans only when they want to be cool, but many ceiling fans come with a reverse button. Switching the direction of the fan makes it warmer, air pooled near the ceiling is circulated back into the living space.
Insulate hot water pipes
Wrap external hot water pipes with insulation tape to reduce the heat loss from your geyser to the taps. It will also reduce the energy needed to get your water hot.
This week’s eco blog is courtesy of www.all4women.co.za
