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If you are feeling the chill in your home this Autumn, excess draughts in your home could be the problem. Draught-proofing your home could help to keep your home warmer and save you money on your energy bills this year. We’ve pulled together our top tips for draught-proofing your home to help.
It goes without saying that a draughty home isn’t pleasant for anyone, but it could be costing you money. Draughts in your home are often a sign of gaps in your home meaning that your central heating system will have to work twice as hard to keep your home warm and making your home far less energy-efficient than it should be. This means that you could be wasting money on energy bills with something that could be a quick fix.
When draught-proofing your home, you can either pay a professional to do the job or if you are looking for a more cost-effective method of draught-proofing your home, you can draught-proof your home yourself. The first thing you need to do is to identify possible sources for the draughts in your home. Where is warm air escaping and cold air entering? Identify any areas of your home where there could be gaps to the outside world paying close attention to the areas around windows and doors as well as loft hatches and skirting boards.
One main area where heat could be escaping from your home is through your external-opening doorways. Over time, the seals around your doors could wear away or be damaged and this could cause draughts to enter through the gaps around your door. By adding draught-excluding door brush strips to the area around your door you will be sealing it against cold weather from outside whilst keeping heat from your home inside.
Don’t forget, air can also escape under interior rooms making it harder to heat individual rooms and causing potential draughts. Use a draught excluder to block the gaps at the bottom of your doors and keep warm air inside the room you are trying to heat.
Some other ways to draught-proof your doors include things such as buying a keyhole cover which is particularly good for older doors where draughts may be entering through the space. You can also use brush strips to line your letter box to avoid draughts through that area.
Another area that may be causing draughts in your home is your chimney. When your fire is not in use, your chimney could be allowing warm air to escape from your home causing draughts and bumping up your heating bill. To combat this, install a chimney draught excluder that can be either inflatable or designed to fit your chimney size and made from materials such as wool to allow air to pass through for ventilation. Just remember to remove the chimney draught excluder before you light your fire. Other options for draught-proofing your chimney include getting a specialist to install a chimney cap, normally made from terracotta.
Windows are also a common area for draughts to enter your home. There are two main ways to help draught-proof your windows. One way to help insulate your windows from sounds and draughts is through self-adhesive foam strips sometimes known as weather stripping. This is simple to apply and can help seal your windows against draughts. The second method and arguably the more lasting one is to replace your window gaskets or window seals with new window seals. By fitting new, high-performing window seals, you can save money on heating costs during the winter and better regulate the temperature of your home year-round.
Around a quarter of a home’s heat is lost through uninsulated roofs and this makes loft hatches a potentially huge draught spot. Avoid draughts entering through your loft door by insulating the loft door itself as well as fitting draught-excluding material, such as brush strips around the opening as you would a normal door. This should help prevent draughts from entering your home from a cold loft space.
Protecting your home against draughts can make your home much more energy-efficient and help to bring down your energy bills in the long run. To find out more about our draught-proofing products, contact our team now online or by calling 01952 291903.