The heating season is (not) soon? Experts warn to prepare now

The heating season is (not) soon? Experts warn to prepare now

Although it is still midsummer in Lithuania, experts warn that the winter and the heating season that comes with it should be prepared now. According to Arūnas Armanavičius, Head of Building Administration at Civinity Namai, a company that maintains and manages apartment buildings, residents only notice problems with too low temperatures in their homes when the weather cools down and the heating is switched on in the apartment building, but in many cases, it is already too late to deal with these problems.

High humidity and draughts in the apartment guarantee that you will be cold in winter

Many people are aware that outdoor air temperature and sensory temperature can vary. This is often the case when other environmental factors, such as high winds or humidity, affect the sensation of the outside air temperature.

Indoor air temperature is also influenced by external factors, one of which is humidity. When the home is cold and damp, the sensory temperature will be lower than the actual temperature. This is because the body’s naturally occurring moisture is more difficult to evaporate in an environment with elevated humidity levels and the body feels colder when the indoor temperature is low.

Also, the lower sensible temperature can be influenced by draughts in the apartment, which damage the thin layer of warm air that naturally surrounds the body, causing us to lose body heat more quickly and to feel the temperature of the home lower than the thermometer column indicates.

Airtight homes – draught-free homes

If you want to keep your home warm in winter and avoid paying high heating bills, you should make sure your home is airtight.

According to Armanavičius, the most common way for wind to enter a house is through leaky windows. These need to be checked and, if necessary, replaced before the start of the heating season, as it will be more difficult to do so when the weather gets colder.

“It is not always necessary to replace leaky windows with new ones. Replacing window seals to make them elastic and tight-fitting, and adjusting the windows are often enough. Of course, if the windows are very old and badly warped, replacing them may be the only way to keep the heat inside the house during the cold season and to prevent draughts from entering the apartment,” says a Civinity Namai specialist.

People living in block houses also often have to deal with leaky joints in the façade. Over time, these joints connecting the building blocks become leaky, allowing not only wind and moisture to pass through, but also making the flats colder, more humid and causing mould.

In such cases, it is recommended that the seams of the façade of the apartment building be sealed during the summer and that the blocks of the façade of the building be painted with thermosetting paints.

“Sealing the joints of a block house is necessary to prevent moisture from entering the joints of the blocks and also to prevent wind blowing in. This will not have a direct impact on heat savings, but it will prevent the wind from penetrating through the joints,” comments Armanavičius.

Radiators can only be replaced outside the heating season

If the radiators in your apartment are more than two decades old, they are considered to be old, high-risk appliances. It is advisable to replace such radiators, which can only be done before the start of the heating season.

Even if the radiators in your home are less than 20 years old, it is important to make sure they are in good working order. If you see signs of water leakage on the radiators, or if there are parts that have rusted, it is likely that the radiators are not in good condition and need to be repaired or replaced.

“If you live on the top floor of a block of flats, we recommend checking that the radiator’s air release valve is working before the autumn. It should turn and close easily. If you can’t do this, you need to replace it immediately, because when the heating season starts you won’t be able to release the air from the heating system, which will freeze the neighbours on the whole staircase,” says Armanavičius.

Proper ventilation is the way to a dry and warm home

If the ventilation system in the apartment is not working properly, the apartment is not ventilated enough, which leads to a higher humidity level in the home.

You can check whether the ventilation is working properly by using a flame to see if a burning candle or other flame source is being drawn into the ventilation duct or blown into the apartment. If the flame is pointing towards the apartment, the ventilation is not working properly because it is not drawing air into the ventilation duct but blowing air back into the apartment.

You can also attach a piece of paper to the vent – if it sticks, the air draft is good. If it falls off, however, the air ventilation in the house is impaired.

“Most people don’t check the condition of the ventilation grilles in their flats, which are often covered in cobwebs and accumulate dust. If you feel that the ventilation in your apartment has deteriorated, check it first,” advises a Civinity Namai specialist.

If you see that the ventilation in your apartment is not working properly after cleaning the grilles, it is recommended to contact the building manager of the apartment building, who will come to your apartment and find out the real cause of the ventilation problem and arrange for it to be fixed.