Being cold and having nothing at hand to do about it is just annoying. And the problem is that, when it arrives suddenly, many of us are not prepared to cope, neither on the street nor at home. Because it is precisely in the home where we spend the most time, that is why it is essential that we are in the best conditions to avoid having to wrap ourselves in excess for something as everyday as watching television on the sofa or studying at our desk.

The main problem with homes today is that they lose 99% of the energy because they are not well insulated. What does that mean? That no matter how much we raise the heating, we keep going cold and, in addition, paying more in the bill of light or gas, because to each degree that we raise the thermostat the bill rises 7%. To prevent this from happening, reform is our main weapon, but we know exactly what improvements need to be made and what critical points we must control for it to be a success.

Here at Fletcher Insulation we offer you top insulating services, so you no longer have to worry about cold coming inside your house.

The roof, causing the house to cool down

To begin, let’s look at the ceiling. Yes, because the main heat losses in homes occur precisely on the roof. Specifically, 30% of the heat disappears through the roof, so it has to be the first objective of the reform or rehabilitation, because if it is isolated correctly it can generate a saving of 35% in the energy bill.

To stop these losses, there are varied materials that are suitable to protect the covers, although the most advisable for this case may be the extruded polystyrene, better known as XPS, since it not only protects from the cold in winter, but also from the heat in summer, which keeps the temperature stable throughout the year. Because that is also important.

But if you want to give a bonus to this thermal insulation, we have the mineral wool, a material easy to find in the market, affordable and that, in addition, isolates external noise if installed with a perforated finish. In this way, not only energy is saved, but also the quality of life at home is improved by not having excessive noise that hinders rest or activities that require concentration, achieving the desired acoustic comfort.

The walls, the next step

The walls or walls of the building are the following causes that the heat is not perceptible in our home. Here 25% of the temperature of the houses escapes. And, for this reason, they should be the object of thermal rehabilitation or reform so that it is complete. In this case, as with the roof, reducing the loss of heat through the walls also lowers the amount of the electric bill or gas.

At this point, the thermal rehabilitation of the walls can be done from inside the house or from the outside, since it is about sheltering “the skin of the building”. Although it is more effective if it is done from the outside, it is often not feasible since you have to agree with the rest of the neighbours to isolate the façade. For this reason, it is often advisable to isolate from the inside, since it is simpler and also economical, since the specific needs of the home are detected, and all the critical points are isolated so as not to lose the heat generated. There are many insulating materials for the interior of the house, which also tend to have acoustic properties, avoiding in the same way the spread of noise from one floor to another or even reduce the noise from the outside.

Once the walls are well insulated, we can start thinking about the heating system of the house. There is one that is not too well known but that can help in this goal of heating the house without wasting energy. It is the radiant walls (there are also floors), an efficient heating system that achieves a uniform temperature throughout the house through a pipe circuit that connects with the space where they are installed, which gives them the ability to distribute heat consistently.

Among its advantages stand out the possibility of maintaining that temperature in summer, thanks to the cooling, and the limitation of air currents. The best thing about this system is that it distributes energy (heat) in a more uniform way than radiators, which are a focal point, which generates greater well-being with lower temperatures, which generates savings in bills.

Extra tips

Finally, to reinforce the role of isolation, we can adopt a series of habits that will allow us to keep the house warm without wasting energy:

1. Schedule the heating with time. If it rises suddenly, the bill increases more than keeping the house at a constant temperature.
2. Replace the boiler with one of low consumption. It is an important investment, but it is recovered by saving on the invoice.
3. Use curtains and blinds as insulators. If at night we close the blinds and pull the curtains, the house will keep the heat accumulated during the day.
4. Place reflective panels behind the radiators. It allows to save between 10% and 20% of the energy consumed, since the heat bounces in them and is distributed throughout the stay.
5. Close the kitchen doors and the window. These rooms have security slits through which the heat goes and, at the same time, the cold enters, so it is necessary to avoid that this exchange of energy spreads throughout the house.
6. Install double-glazed windows. This saves up to 50% of the heat.
7. Check doors and windows, in order to detect possible cracks or leaks by the carpentry itself. If this is the case, they must be sealed with putty or silicone or have weather strips, because these cracks enter the cold outside.
8. Lean on the elements of the decoration to gain degrees. When we put carpets on the floors and thick curtains we have a warmer home, we also create a more comfortable space acoustically since these elements absorb noise, not bounce.

Contact us today for top insulation and avoid feeling cold in the winter.