Why is my home so cold?
Even when your heating is on, do you find yourself reaching for a blanket or putting on yet another jumper? It might feel like your home just isn’t getting warm, even when the thermostat is set to a toasty 21°C. There could be a reason why your home is so cold, though determining what this is can be tricky.
In this helpful article, we’ve outlined some of the most common reasons why your home might be a little chilly and what you can do about it.
In this helpful article, we’ve outlined some of the most common reasons why your home might be a little chilly and what you can do about it.
4 reasons your home might be cold
Blocked/inefficient radiators
It may sound simple but you should ensure that there isn’t any furniture blocking your radiators. This could severely lower their efficiency and will prevent the heat from getting into the room. Even curtains that partially cover a radiator will have an effect on how warm the room gets.
It’s also important to bleed these features of your heating system regularly. A radiator that contains lots of trapped air will take longer to heat up and won’t be able to produce as much heat. If you’ve bled it and it still feels cold in places, particularly at the bottom, the entire system could need flushing to remove any dirt and debris.
Excessive heat loss
If your radiators are all working correctly and giving out a good amount of warmth, it could be that the heat is escaping too quickly from your home. This will leave the rooms feeling chilly even when the heating is on.
Draughts from doors, windows and chimneys can bring the temperature of your home down, particularly if you have sash or single-glazed windows. If you can, work out where the draught is coming from and apply some window draught excluders around the frames. This product is a kind of insulation tape that will cover the gaps between your doors and windows and their frames, thus preventing cold air from getting in. You may also want to consider switching to energy-efficient double glazing.
Bad insulation
Heat doesn’t just escape from around your home’s windows and doors, but through the walls and the roof, too. This is why insulation is so important and can drastically improve the temperature of your home.
Your roof is the main source of heat loss in your home, so you should check that your attic contains sufficient insulation. If it doesn’t, you could see a huge improvement by replacing or increasing what’s there already.
Inaccurate thermostat
In some cases, it might be your thermostat that’s causing problems. The thermostat is used by the boiler to determine when a room has reached its pre-set temperature. Your boiler might not be heating your home because your thermostat thinks that temperature has been reached.
First, check that your thermostat is set to a comfortable room temperature, between 18 and 21 °C. If you have a smart thermostat, you can use this to set it.
If you think that your thermostat is defective, you may need to invest in a new one.
How to keep your home warm during winter
Once you’ve determined why your home is cold, there are some things you can do to make the most of the heat and keep the climate snug during winter.
What you should make sure, before you start the procedure:
Open/close your curtains accordingly
Your curtains aren’t just there to keep the light out - they can also help to retain heat in a room. If it’s a sunny winter’s day, keep your curtains open as long as possible to encourage the sunlight to warm up the room. When the sun no longer reaches that room, close the curtains to trap the heat in.
If there’s a room in your house that doesn’t get any sunlight, it’s best to keep the curtains here closed.
Avoid keeping doors open
By keeping your front or back door open for long periods of time, you’re letting much of the heat escape from your home. You should close the door between tasks. For example, if you’re bringing the shopping in from the car, close the door until you’re ready to go back outside.
If you spend a lot of time in the living room during the evening, you should also keep that internal door closed. Doing so will keep the heat in instead of allowing it to circulate through the rest of the house.
Direct the heat from your radiators
While some of the heat from your radiators goes into your home, some will also go into the walls and out the other side. To prevent this heat loss, you could cover an A2 piece of card in tin foil and place it directly behind your radiator. This will help to reflect some of the heat back into the room.
How to prepare your home for autumn and winter
To ensure that your home is properly prepared for winter, it’s imperative that you have your boiler serviced. Not only could this make it run more efficiently, but the engineer will check it’s working safely. You should also check that your radiators are getting hot, even right at the top and the bottom, and that your boiler is reaching the correct pressure.