Cold At Night? Try These Hacks To Stay Warm At Home

Feeling cold at night is never fun. But it is something that afflicts millions of people across the country. 

Fortunately, there are ways you can modify your home to keep the worst of the chill away. Here are some of the hacks you can try. 

Perform Comprehensive Air Sealing

The first step is to perform a complete air sealing of your home. Plugging gaps and holes will prevent cold air from exchanging with hot, stopping your warm heating from escaping the moment you turn up the thermostat. 

There are all sorts of places where air can escape your home, including electrical outlets, gaps under doors, and loose window frames. Air sealing is a way to plug these areas, preventing air from exchanging with the outside. 

Get Basement Insulation

Basements are another place where warm can leave the home. It’s not so much warm air leaving (although this can be a problem). It’s more cool air being dragged from below-ground level into your property as the hot air above it rises (a bit like a fireplace). 

That’s why most professionals recommend completely sealing the basement. Preventing air from getting in stops cold air from being drawn in from below and negative pressure causing it to rise to your ground floor. 

Usually, basement sealing occurs around the rim joints or in basement walls. Some strategies aim to prevent cold air from entering altogether, while others focus on stopping it from getting out of the basement and into the rest of your home. 

Use Window Replacement

Another strategy is window replacement. Before you attempt this, you should speak to a specialist double glazing company about what you should do. 

Double-glazing is superior to single-glazed windows because there is a layer of argon gas between the two panes. This stops heat transfer by acting as a kind of blanket, preventing warmer air particles from losing as much of their energy to the outside. 

Triple-glazing provides even more protection and is a good option for homes with extensive windows.

Install Door Replacements

At the same time, you might also consider door replacements. These eliminate draughty exterior doors with alternatives that lock in air and improve retained heat. 

Replacing doors is costly, but it often pays off long term. What’s more, you can often improve your security at the same time by looking for doors with enhanced locking mechanisms that keep you and everyone else in your home safe. 

Apply More Attic Insulation

Attic insulation is another option for keeping your home warm and toasty during cold weather. It’s also something that most homeowners get wrong. 

The average attic insulation is only about 100mm thick. That’s because insulation standards were lower in the past. Experts now recommend up to 300mm of insulation in the loft to prevent warm air from escaping as easily. 

Fortunately, laying the material is fairly straightforward. It only becomes a problem if you need floor space in your attic. If you do, you’ll want to lay a raised floorboard structure that sits on top of the insulation material.