The weather is changing and as the cold weather increases every day, we make allowances by keeping doors and windows closed, laying that extra blanket on our beds or even that warm rug by the fireplace. It’s also around this time that drafts become apparent in our homes, especially in the older Victorian or Georgian builds where it can feel like streams of cold air have a life of their own and you’re never quite sure where the source is.

Excluding Drafts

It’s important to check all insulation, especially doors and windows. You may already have double glazing but sometimes, if its been badly installed or a very old design, they can start to become inefficient, eg the sealings get worn or the framework becomes rotten or contracts. Its a good idea to check the edges and framework for drafts, remembering that even a small leak of air can cause a significant heat wastage and will get even worse eventually.

Chasing Draughts

My own home has been double glazed or at least what I thought was the most significant windows in the house, eg. Living room, kitchen and bathroom. The hallway and utility room, both with much smaller windows, however, have been overlooked, yet recently I’ve found myself regretting this as I can feel steady, cold streams of air travelling through my hallway snaking around my ankles as though it has a life of its own to meet the gap under the door of the utility room window. It’s a very distracting and irritating phenomenon and like living with a ghost.

How Draughts Happen

There are two different ways in which a draught can occur, both phenomena are called pressure and suction. For instance, when the cold winter winds begin to blow against our homes, it creates a pressure difference between the outdoor and indoor air. This pressure difference produces a suction effect that pulls at warm air. Therefore if there are small gaps in your walls, window or door frames, the warm air gets pulled through them and out of our houses. What happens next is the cold air squeezes itself in the place of the warm air and creates that cold draught we can feel when trying to relax in front of the telly. Yup! Winter actually does steel warm air from our homes.

Check and Protect

To keep on top of this energy thief, we need to check the door frames of any doors that lead to outside, especially back doors or porch/patio doors. Check the bottom of the door as well as the frame itself as like window frames, doors can come slightly unseated over time, creating the little gap heat needs to escape. If you have a fireplace, this can also let warm air out, even if its not in use. If it feels colder around your fireplace, it may be because warm air is getting sucked up and out through the chimney. Closing your flue whenever a fire isn’t burning will help.

Energy Efficiency

Remember: heat can escape through even the smallest of gaps. Check lighting fixtures and power outlets to make sure they’re as flush with the wall as they can be. If your power outlet is loose at all, it could be letting heat leak out through it.
So this Autumn it’s probably a good idea to check all our windows and doors and get on top of the draft ghosts in our houses, as despite making us very uncomfortable, it greatly compromises energy efficiency because when cold air finds its way into our homes our heating has to work much harder by having to pump in extra hot hair. Therefore sorting our draft sources out, will save us a giant fortune in the long run.

For more information on all our double glazing options, contact Brighton Trade Windows today.