Whether your home lacks central heat or you simply don’t want to use your central heat services, there are other ways to stay warm throughout the winter. If you’re looking for the cheapest way to heat a room without central heating, you can start by improving your home’s insulation, purchasing products that produce heat, and making basic home improvements that can improve the heat in your home without using the central furnace. If you’re wondering the best way to heat a room without central heating, these five tips can help.
Weatherstripping
Weatherstripping seals windows and doors by closing gaps and preventing drafts. Weatherstripping doesn’t produce heat, of course, but weatherstripping can keep heat in your home and prevent energy transfer that would lead to cold spots. Weatherstripping is something that most homeowners can do on their own, without hiring a professional.
Purchase weatherstripping from your local home improvement store or hardware store. The weatherstripping you purchase should be thick enough to fill any gaps around your doors and windows, but not so thick that it would prevent your doors and windows from closing or opening properly.
You can further weatherstrip or insulate your home by covering your windows, either with plastic sheeting or with heavy drapes. Covering your windows in this way will help keep out drafts and any chill outside. This is especially helpful if you have old, single pane windows, rather than dual pane windows. If you’re interested in covering your windows with plastic sheeting, you can purchase this type of sheeting in home improvement stores and hardware stores, often in the same location as the weatherstripping.
Install Heated Towel Warmers
Heated towel warmersproduce heat to keep towels warm, but that’s not all they do! These products work much like radiators, keeping the air around them warm as well. Installing a heated towel warmer in your bathroom gives you a place to hang your towel when you want it warm, but you can install a heated towel warmer in other rooms of your house.
Consider installing heated towel warmers in your utility room for drying delicate laundry or your mud room for heating your coat after it’s become wet from snow, rain or other forms of precipitation.
Use Your Fireplace
Lots of homes have fireplaces, but not all homeowners think to use their fireplaces. A wood-burning fireplace can be an excellent source of heat, but first you’ve got to be sure that you’re keeping up with fireplace maintenance. Have your fireplace cleaned and inspected by a chimney sweep at least once annually. If your fireplace needs repair, have the repairs conducted before using it. Keeping up with fireplace maintenance is important for ensuring that your home is safe.
To use your fireplace, you’ll also need some seasoned firewood. Seasoned firewood is often silver or gray-ish in color, features cracks in the ends of the wood, and burns easily. If your firewood sizzles, produces a greasy low flame, or produces a lot of smoke, this is a sign that your firewood is unseasoned. Work with a reputable firewood supplier to get your supply of firewood today.
Cook
Cooking produces a lot of heat! Boil water for pasta, cook casseroles in your oven, and fry up breakfast any time you want it. Cooking is an excellent way to make your kitchen warmer, and can help warm rooms around your kitchen as well.
Install Radiant Floor Heating
Radiant floor heating produces heat that radiates upward from the ground. This efficient, effective form of heating works by heating objects on your floor, from the couch to the table. Radiant heat is natural, healthy and has advantages over central heating. Whereas central heating can blow dust around your home and may even circulate mold spores, radiant floor heating doesn’t rely on forced air at all. It’s clean and natural.
Want radiant floor heating or towel warmer installation? Green Wave Distribution can help. We provide radiant heating solutions to keep your home comfortable and energy efficient. If you need an alternative to your home’s furnace, call today to learn more about our radiant floor heating and radiant heat panels.
