Energy Saving
Now that autumn is here our thoughts turn to what we can do to keep the house warmer. Did you know that the average home loses around 15% of it’s heat through doors and 18% through it’s windows? With energy prices as high as they are at the moment savings are always welcome. If you have older windows or have noticed draughts or cold spots in your home it might be worth looking into new energy efficient windows and doors.
Keeping the Heat in
Our A+ rated windows and doors are designed to keep the heat in. In winter the energy efficient coated glass retains the warmth within the home, it also allows radiant from the sun in to add extra free heat. If you have older windows and you don’t want to replace them there are other things that you can do to stop heat loss from your home.
The most obvious way to stop heat loss is to fill any gaps. Ill fitting windows and doors will loose heat quickly. If you fill the gaps with draught excluder or filler it will help to keep the heat in. Obviously if you buy new double glazing you won’t have this problem, as double glazed windows are sealed units they will cut draughts and minimise heat loss. They won’t rot like traditional wooden windows, so you won’t have problems in the future with gaps leading to draughts.
Older external doors may also benefit from an old fashioned draught excluder. Remember when old people use to have handmade draught excluders in the shape of sausage dogs? They were trying to minimise the heat loss from the door by blocking gaps.
Another way to keep your home warmer is to fit heavy or thermally lined curtains across windows and doors. The idea here is to trap cold air next to the window, keeping the warmer air inside the house. Double glazing works in a similar way, just far more efficiently. The gap between the panes of glass is filled with a gas that is a good insulator, keeping heat inside and cold outside. Obviously these measures are never going to be as efficient as having new double or even triple glazing fitted. Good double or triple glazing will make your home more energy efficient, and make it a nicer place to be! Without draughts you control the temperature of your home, so there are no more cold spots.
Our new composite doors are very thermally efficient, and fit tightly into the frame to eliminate heat loss. You can see the composition of our doors below.