house

Keeping the house warm in winter

by Liz Beavis
It doesn't get seriously cold here, but its cold enough to be uncomfortable if we don't make some effort.  We are actually finding that our house up on the hill is warmer than down in the valley, and we are above the frost line, so that is a nice change, but it still gets down to 5degC overnight.  We have a woodstove, but we have to cut the wood ourselves, so you don't really want to use more wood than really necessary to keep the house warm.


There are three ways that heat is lost from a building:

  • Conduction - direct transfer of heat from a warm object to a cold object, this is heat lost through the walls and roof of your house to the cooler air
  • Convection - caused by a flow of cold air, either draughts or air circulating around exposed windows 
  • Radiation - heat transmitted in the form of light waves, this can be another source of heat loss from windows, roofs and walls of your house.


When you understand how heat is lost, you can see the solutions for keeping heat in a building.


Insulation

You can reduce the amount of heat lost be conduction by using insulation in your roof and walls.  We had to install insulation in our roof as part of our building approval when we moved the house, and we also took the opportunity to put insulation in walls any time that we had the cladding off, so the bathroom and the side veranda room have insulated walls.  Some of our walls are single clad - so its only one layer of VJ board between us and the cold air outside.  If this becomes a problem we will put weatherboard on the outside and install insulation in between.   If you don't have insulation, it is relatively cheap to buy and install yourself (be careful in your roof space!) and can make a huge difference to the comfort of your home in winter.


Reduce draughts

Queenslander homes are general draughty due to the floors, doors and windows not being completely sealed.  The new floor that we installed over the existing floor has made a huge difference to draughts and the floor is now very well sealed.  There is still cold air coming in around the older style doors and windows though, so I made some draught snakes (more about them later).

Curtains are also important for reducing heat loss and they break up the cold airflow around the window.  If you don't have curtains, they are also relatively cheap and easy to make, or look for old ones at opportunity shops.  Double-glazing of windows is another option, but it works out very expensive to retrofit.

 


Winter mode on ceiling fans

As hot air rises, you can find that even though you are heating a room, you're not feeling any warmer down at floor level.  Most ceiling fans have a winter mode where they spin backwards and direct the warmer air from the ceiling back down to the floor.


Dress appropriately


Time to get out the ugg boots and winter woolies!  Blankets and lap rugs are handy too.  I find that when we are so used to a warm climate, we can forget that we do own long sleeves and pants!





The bonus is that most of these methods will also help to keep your house cool in summer.  We certainly noticed the difference when we installed the insulation.  The only thing you would change is to encourage breezes unless you're running air conditioning (and then you want a well-sealed house also).


How do you keep your house warm in winter?  Any tips for reducing your heating costs while staying comfortable?


 

More posts about our house, from moving it to the property through to moving into the house (roughly in order):

Leave a comment

Please note, comments must be approved before they are published

This site is protected by hCaptcha and the hCaptcha Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

More from: house
Back to Eight Acres - the blog

Share this

Recent Posts

Eight Acres Soap is Different!
Eight Acres Soap is Different!
Backyard Chickens - where to start!
Backyard Chickens - where to start!
Removal house advice - where to start?
Removal house advice - where to start?
Weird vegetables in my sub-tropical garden
Weird vegetables in my sub-tropical garden

eBooks By Eight Acres

View all
eBook - Make Your Own Natural Soap
eBook - Our Experience with House Cows
eBook - A Beginner's Guide to Backyard Chickens and Chicken Tractors
eBook - Advanced Natural Soapmaking Techniques
eBook - Grow Your Own Vegetables