It’s that time of year again! The sun barely comes out, the leaves are changing colors and falling from the trees, and the air brings a tingling chill. All these can only mean one thing: winter is coming.
Although winter opens opportunities for fun snow-related activities like ice skating and snowball fights, it also brings its own set of challenges. The cold weather brought about by the season is a hassle for many people. In addition, regulating your body temperature and keeping your house warm can be a challenge.
Why is It Important to Keep My Home Warm?
The winter season can affect your health if you’re not prepared. Even with the best heating system, staying warm and dry in places like Colorado, where the temperature during winter drops below that cozy 68°F (20°C), is difficult. Cold weather is notorious for causing life-changing complications, especially for babies, children, immunocompromised people, and the elderly.
Healthy Ways to Heat Your Colorado House
Luckily, there are many tricks to stay warm and healthy during the winter season. From simply closing and opening your curtains to buying a high-quality furnace with remote thermostat control, you’ll eventually find something that works for your needs.
Here are some hacks to keep your Colorado house warm and cozy to keep it healthy while on a budget.
1. Use Your Curtains
This is probably the easiest, most eco-friendly way to heat your house. Simply open your curtains during the day to let the sunlight in. Then, close your curtains to promote insulation and keep the house warm when nighttime comes.
2. Monitor Your Radiator
If you have a radiator, monitor how much heat is being dispersed. Too much means your home will be too warm, and not enough means it’ll be chilly inside without proper insulation or heating systems. Also, keep away any items blocking the radiators so the heat can circulate your house more evenly. This also helps avoid overheating.
3. Use Rugs
Not only are they effective in warming your feet, rugs are also a great way to complement your home’s aesthetic appeal. Serving as a cushion to keep your feet snug during the cold weather, you’ll be thankful to have these things to warm tile or hardwood floors.
4. Keep Your Furnace Clean
Change your furnace filter regularly. Dirty filters restrict airflow, which can lead to decreased heating efficiency and higher energy bills over time. On top of that, check the furnace for other problems like clogs in the vents before changing the filter.
5. Close the Dampers
To protect your house, shut dampers when not using the fireplace or wood stove. This will help prevent unwanted heat loss through the chimney, and it also blocks unnecessary drafts in certain rooms of your home.
6. Make Sure to Seal off Any Draughts
Don’t forget to close off all possible cracks in your residence to keep the cold air outside and the warm air inside. Self-adhesive rubber seals will do the job, and they’re cheap and easy to install.
7. Purchase an Environment-Friendly Space Heater
If you can’t have a real fire, opt for an electric or gas space heater. Choose one that doesn’t produce ozone-depleting agents and is energy efficient to save money on your heating bills. Only put space heaters in rooms where you hang out more often.
8. Leave Oven Door Open After Use
After you’re done using the oven, turn it off but leave the door open and take advantage of the high temperature it produces to heat the room. But while it is fine to use the leftover heat, never run a gas oven open to heat your house alone. This causes it releases dangerous levels of carbon monoxide and might even cause explosions.
9. Boiler Settings
Boilers usually control most traditional heating systems. Remember to set it correctly to match the temperature needed to heat a room. Any more than that is unnecessary and will only take up extra energy.
10. Thermostat Settings
Setting the thermostat higher will not heat your home faster! It only measures the room temperature, and once the desired warmth is reached, it signals the boiler to cease the transfer of hot water to the radiators.
The Bottom Line
There are many ways to heat your house without breaking the bank or harming the environment. You just need to be creative and put a little time into finding solutions that work for you, which is what this blog post has been all about!
To keep your home warm and comfortable this winter season, try some of these warming tips!
