The mornings are crisp and the leaves have turned – if you are in an older house it probably feels like you are living in a tent.
It’s time to make sure the basics of energy efficiency are in place for your comfortable winter and lower energy bills.
Keeping warm - heating
- Service your heater
- At a minimum clean the inlet filter – a clogged filter will slow airflow, requiring more energy for longer and slowing the rate you heater can warm your room or home.
- Gas heaters should also be checked for carbon monoxide leaks.
- Use your reverse cycle air-con system instead of a gas heaters - dollar for dollar you get more heat.
- Every degree of extra heating will increase energy usage 6% to 8% - so set a comfortable but reasonable temperature - 18°C to 20°C in winter.
- Having your thermostat to a higher temperature than normal will not warm your home faster.
- Hot air rises, so use a ceiling (or pedestal) fan – gently moving the air around the room will mix the air so the whole room is warm
- Reverse a ceiling fan to pull the room’s center air up to the ceiling and push the hot air above down the walls.
- Learn how to use heater controls like timer thermostats or a reverse cycle air-con system’s app (if you have one) You can set it to warm your house slowly before you get home or before you even get out of bed in the morning, rather than cranking it.
- Isolate the rooms in the your that you want to be warm - if you heat only the rooms you use most of the time, you don't waste dollars on spaces you don't use.
Keeping warm - draughts
Most Australian homes are draughty – much of the energy you spend on heating your home may be lost through gaps in your building envelope. There are many places where air can leak, including open fireplaces, wall vents, evaporative cooling vents, skylights and exhaust fans, gaps around windows, doors, floorboards and skirting boards, wood burners and old gas heaters.
The solution is simple – find the draughts, then block the draughts.
Find the draughts
- A trained professional can offer a Blower Door Test using a powerful fan to extract air from your house and a smoke generator or infrared thermal imaging camera is used to check for the location of leaks
- DIY options include using the back of your hand on a windy day, an incense stick, light tissue or cellophane taped near windows or vents.
- DIY – your local library can probably loan you an infrared thermal imaging camera
Block the draughts
- Use a door snake - or even a rolled-up towel - to help stop air escaping from under your doors.
- Cover evaporative cooling vents with a plastic cover, or even with cling wrap.
- DIY instructions from Geelong Sustainability, including:
- Sealing wall vents
- Sealing floor vents
- Sealing heating vents part 1
- and heating vents part 2
- Draught proofing gaps in skirting boards
- Draught proofing gaps in floorboards