Scared of high costs as the heating season starts? Experts advise how to save

Scared of high costs as the heating season starts? Experts advise how to save

As the heating season starts in Lithuania, some people are looking forward to it, while others are worried about rising utility bills. Experts say that heating energy can and should be saved. Tadas Kuznecovas, head of Civinity Namai in Vilnius, a company involved in the maintenance and management of apartment buildings, explains what simple measures can help save heat energy at home and reduce heating bills.

Seal your windows

Proper thermal insulation is one of the most effective ways to keep your home warm in winter and reduce heating costs. So at the start of the heating season, make sure the windows in your home are keeping the heat inside properly.

According to T. Kuznecovas, it is recommended to lubricate the gaskets of your plastic windows with silicone grease at least once a year to prevent them from hardening, to keep them elastic and to ensure a tight fit. If you notice that your window gaskets are already stiff, it is recommended to replace them with new ones.

Wooden windows are more susceptible to thermal changes and deform more, so it is advisable to have them adjusted by a professional. Old wooden windows tend to have more leaks and distortions, so it is advisable to seal them with sealants, which can be bought in any building supply store.

To save heat in your home, you can also apply a transparent heat insulating film to your windows. This is an effective way to reduce heat loss, especially in older blocks of flats where windows are often not sufficiently sealed.

Expose radiators and install reflectors

Radiators that are covered by furniture or curtains may not provide enough heat in the home. To ensure that the heat from radiators is distributed efficiently in the home, keep radiators away from curtains, furniture or other objects. This is especially important in apartment buildings with central heating, where heat must be distributed efficiently throughout the apartment.

The heat from radiators not only enters the apartment, but can also escape through leaking external walls. To reduce heat loss through them, install radiator reflectors.

Radiator reflectors are special metallized plates or foils that are mounted behind the radiator. Their purpose is to reflect the heat coming from the radiators back into the room, rather than allowing it to soak into the walls.

Ventilate the apartment properly

The level of humidity in the home also affects heating efficiency. When a home is humid, the sensible temperature is lower than the actual indoor air temperature.

This is because the body’s naturally occurring moisture is harder to evaporate in an environment with a higher humidity level and the body feels colder when the indoor temperature is low. This is particularly true in older houses, where the ventilation system of a block of flats is usually less efficient and moisture builds up more easily.

Therefore, to keep your home warm, reduce humidity levels. The first thing to do is to ventilate the apartment regularly. According to Civinity Namai, ventilation should be short but intense.

Cleaning ventilation grilles can also help to reduce humidity in the home. They are often overgrown with cobwebs and accumulate dust. Cleaning the ventilation grilles can help improve the performance of your home’s ventilation system.

Dehumidifiers can also be an effective way of reducing the level of humidity in your home.

Other ways to save heat

In flats with thermostatically controlled radiators, you can adjust the temperature of each room, reducing heating where it is not needed. This means that rooms that are used less frequently or when you leave the house can be turned down to save heat energy and heating bills.

During the heating season, not only the flats are heated, but also the common areas of the block of flats. It is equally important to ensure that these rooms are airtight. Stairwell windows should be sealed, broken door pulls or other door defects that allow heat to escape from the building should be repaired, advises the specialist.