HOLD ON TO YOUR HEAT

Thermal image of a house in Beeston - notice the windows are warmer than the walls.

Heating our homes in Winter with fossil fuels causes considerable emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide that is doing such harm by heating up our planet.  So anything we can do to cut down on our use of fossil fuel will help to reduce the extent of global warming. That means we need to find ways to hold on to the heat and avoid it being lost.

​At the launch of Greening Beeston in 2010 some Beeston residents took action to make some savings in CO2 emissions as well as saving themselves money.  Even if the individual savings are small, the more changes we make and the more people that choose to make them, the bigger difference there will be. 

​Insulating the loft and walls as well as installing double-glazing are ideal to prevent so much heat escaping from a house but they have an initial cost.  Even if you can't afford to spend money on those big changes, there are other actions that you can take to avoid losing heat and they will begin to save you money straight away.  See below for changes you can make.  Some of them are expensive to carry out but many of them cost only a small amount and some cost nothing at all. 

In the thermal image the windows appear warmer, because they let out the heat more quickly than the walls.  Some heat will be lost, even with double-glazed windows and insulated walls, so we still need to take all the actions we can.

Do you have any ideas of what else to do? Click HERE to tell us and we can add them to the list.​
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CHANGES THAT HAVE A COST (See next section for cost-free actions)
The changes here require money to be spent, especially the first few.  They are roughly in order of effectiveness in reducing carbon emissions but each house is different.  The costs will also vary depending on the house.

• Increase the insulation in your loft.  Heat always rises, so loft insulation will stop it going out though the roof.
• Install double-glazed windows.  Windows let out heat more than walls but double-glazing will reduce it.  (Triple-glazing is even better.)
• Insulate your outside walls.  Cavity wall insulation is more straight forward, if your house is not too old to have cavities.  Inside walls will let some heat will pass through but that just keeps another room (or your neighbours) a little bit warmer.
• Replace the boiler, if more than 15 years old.  Now (electric) air-source heat pumps are also possible and more efficient.
• Install thermostatic radiator valves.  You may not need some rooms to be heated as much as others, so they can be left cooler.
• Insulate the hot water cylinder.  Especially in Summer you don't need the heat that will escape into the house.
• Put panels behind radiators on external walls (e.g. foil on a board).  Then less heat will go out through the wall.
• Draught proof around doors & windows; cover letter boxes & keyholes.
• Leave the curtains open where there is a radiator and install a blind in the window recess instead.  That keeps the heat away from the window
• Install a curtain over the front door.
• If you have high ceilings, place a shelf above each radiator.  That stops the heat rising to the ceiling so quickly.​​

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CHANGES THAT COST NOTHING
These changes cost nothing, so you'll definitely be saving money.

• Turn down the thermostat by 1°C (wear a jumper). 
• Avoid having furniture too close to radiators.  Allow the warm air to circulate more easily.
• Avoid having curtains in front of radiators (tuck them behind instead).  Keep the heat in the room and away from the window.
• Turn down radiators in unused rooms.
• Set the central heating timer to turn off half an hour before you usually go out.  Find out how long the rooms stay warm and may be it could be longer.

   

Download the leaflet
(Print double-sided, flipping on the short edge and then cut in half to make 2 leaflets.) ​

gb_hold_on_to_your_heat_new.pdf
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Thermostatic radiator valve - turn it up or down to choose the temperature you want.

A House in Beeston during insulation work.

The same house after external insulation completed.

Blind inside the window recess - heat from the radiator rises in front of the blind, rather than behind the curtains.