How to ‘dress’ your home for winter

In his latest “Tips, Traps and a Little Science” column, MICHAEL DRAGE, founder of Reimagined Habitat, Passive House and energy efficient home designers, offers advice on “dressing” a home to keep it warm through a cold winter. 

WE all know how to dress ourselves for winter (except young children who seem not to notice anything at all). What if we use this as an analogy for how to “dress” our homes?

In winter we wrap ourselves up. We wear warm clothes or wrap ourselves in something (think blanket/doona/oodie). The thicker the clothes or the blanket (think the more insulation in the walls), the warmer we feel. But we also have to look out for the parts of us that poke out. 

We can wrap ourselves in warm clothes (think external walls), but if we have no shoes and socks on (think underfloor insulation), we feel that through our whole body. 

Likewise as it gets cold, we put on a scarf and/or a hat (think roof insulation) like we wear a hat in summer (to shade from the heat).

What about those permanent holes at the end of our sleeves (think doors and windows)? We wear gloves or stick our hands in our pockets. We cover the holes (think sealing gaps, drapes).

And what happens if we leave a coat open (think air leaks through your home)? We do it back up (close up the air leaks).

If we can, we want to sit inside in the sun (think quality north/sun-facing windows when you design).

And for summer – we can take on the same thinking. When we want to be cooler we stand in the shade, and get a little breeze.

Actually, the children issue is also a good analogy. Young children have “brown fat” which is a better insulator. Think new homes (kids) are built with better insulation than old homes (us), so old homes need more help to keep comfortable.

TIPS 

• Go to Bunnings and get some draft seals for doors and windows. A cheap fix.
• Get some good quality heavy drapes (and don’t forget the pelmets) to keep the heat in.
• Manage the house – open the drapes to get the sun in to passively warm you, then shut them as soon as the sun goes to keep the heat in.

TRAPS 

• Not really a trap, but for those with “crying” windows, remember to clean them regularly so mould doesn’t become an issue.

Thank you to all who contacted me regarding last month’s topic on windows. This one seems to have hit home with so many in this region – it really is amazing what a difference quality windows make to a home. Keep your questions coming in, we love helping people upgrade or build better homes.

As always, if you would like to discuss, please call me on 0419 391282. For any questions, comments or queries, please email us at [email protected] or visit reimaginedhabitat.com.au