Alternative Fuel Choice

Are you paying extra because your house is poorly insulated? If you’re in an older home and haven’t given the environmental benefits of draught proofing your sash windows much thought then, yes, you probably are. But even a brand new house could end up causing a lot of trouble in that area. So you think your insulation is fine? Even minor amounts of air flow through the cracks of your windows and significantly change the temperature in your house. You probably don’t even know your house is draughty.

When I say “insulation, ” your first thought is probably heat in cold weather. This is only one half of the problem, the other half being unwanted warm air entering a house in the summer. If your house is well-protected, it will be several degrees cooler in the summer than it is outside. It will also make sure any cool air produced by air conditioning does not just float right out of your house. Remember entropy when you think about air currents; air wants to spread out. Don’t give it the chance.

Most people are familiar with the results of draughts: you will inefficiently attempt to change the temperature of your house and it will not work well. This will lead you to paying more than you need to. You will also be increasing the carbon in the air, no matter what your method of heating or cooling is. If more people paid attention to their frivolous energy expenditures, global warming would not be to such an extreme.

Where to begin? The first step, and one of the smartest, is to find a source of renewable heat that works for you. Solar heating is particularly good. However it won’t make you any warmer if you have a leaky house. You could give up your air conditioning, since the CFCs and HCFCs produced are prime contributors to global warming. But you certainly won’t be any cooler in the summer by giving this up. So look for flaws in your home.

The problem can be nipped in the bud at the beginning stages of a house. If you plan on building, give double the time to currently plan to spend on looking at the insulation. Not everyone has the luxury of starting from scratch, though. So take care of what you have. Don’t let your sash windows fall into any state of disrepair. If you notice wood damage or chipping flakes, call someone to repair it immediately before problems escalate.

Don’t waste your time double-glazing your windows. Attack the problem head on. Make sure a professional attends to all repairs. Use heavy curtains; this will not stop the air flow entirely, but it will slow it down and decrease it. Secondary glazing focuses on the sash and can solve almost any leakage problem. Check any loose putty in the windows and replace it.

If none of this seems to work, though, bite the bullet and put a towel up against the leak. It is an old stand-by remedy because it works, however rudimentary it looks. New devices have been made recently where a weighted cloth can be attached to windows or doors to really block any air flow.

Trying to find reliable sash window draught proofing? If the time comes that you need window insulation in London and Brighton, make sure you hire the best company for the job. See our services now!