How to Warm up a Room
Use your windows and blinds to warm your room with sunlight., Wear layers for energy-free heating., Put hot water bottle in your bed., Plug drafts with spare blankets., Make the most of existing heaters or radiators., Invite people into the room...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Use your windows and blinds to warm your room with sunlight.
One of the easiest ways of all to keep your room warmer is to use the sun, mother nature's original space heater.
In general, you'll want to allow as much warm sunlight into your room as possible during the day and to prevent that warmth from leaving at night.
For best results, you'll also need to know which windows in your room the sun shines through — generally, these are south-facing windows in the Northern Hemisphere and north-facing windows in the Southern Hemisphere.Here's simple sample schedule you may want to use:
Morning:
Before you leave for work or school, close all of your room's windows.
Open the blinds all the way.
Afternoon:
Leave your blinds open until sun stops shining into your room.
As soon as it starts to get dark and cold, close the blinds.
Night:
Keep the blinds and windows closed throughout the night to preserve heat. -
Step 2: Wear layers for energy-free heating.
In a world where the climate impact of household practices is becoming a bigger concern, many environment-conscious consumers are choosing to heat the person, not the room.
Wearing a coat, a jacket, or some sweat pants indoors is a great way to stay warm without using an ounce of heating energy (or spending a penny on your heating bill.) If your room is especially cold at night, you might try wearing layers at night.
Though some people find this uncomfortable, soft garments like sweatpants and "hoodie" sweatshirts usually give the most warmth without sacrificing much comfort.
Artificial fabrics that don't "breathe" like polyester, rayon, and so on generally trap the most heat (this is why they're so uncomfortable in the summer). , One of the worst feelings in the world is navigating an ice-cold room in your pajamas only to slide into a sub-zero bed.
While your bed should heat up once you're in it, you can avoid this awful feeling by heating it up before you get in.
A hot water bottle is one great way to do this — simply fill it with steaming water, close the lid tight, and leave it in the center of your bed under the covers 15 minutes before you go to bed..
As it cools, it will dissipate heat into your bed, leaving it nice and toasty when you get in.
Medical water bottles are available at many pharmacies for around $15 or less.
If you're using a microwave to heat your water, be sure to use a microwave-safe container (like a glass or ceramic bowl). , The last thing you want when you're trying to heat a room is a draft (sometimes spelled "draught"), a spot where cool air can leak into the room.
Keep any drafts plugged up with spare rags or blankets while you're waiting for a more permanent solution (like replacing a leaky window, etc.) When drafts are especially bad, this simple fix can make a big difference.
Not sure whether you have a draft? There are several ways to discover them.
One is simply to hold your hand near a crack in a window or door and feel for the motion of air.
You can also use a candle — if its flame flickers near a crack, you have a draft.
Try the U.S.
Government's draft-detecting tips at energy.gov for more ideas. , Do you have a heater or radiator in your room that doesn't seem to be making a difference when it comes to keeping you warm? Use these tips to increase their effectiveness (and save you money you'd otherwise be wasting):
Make sure there are no pieces of furniture between the heater or radiator and yourself.
For instance, many older houses hide radiators behind couches.
Put a sheet of tinfoil behind a radiator (use a sheet about the same a size as the radiator itself).
This reflects heat that would normally be transmitted into the wall, heating the rest of the room.
If your heater is portable, use it in the smallest space possible so that it can most effectively heat you.
For instance, a space heater will heat a small bedroom much better than it will heat a large living room. , It's easy to forget that human beings are essentially walking, talking, biological furnaces, constantly emitting heat into the air around them.
Bringing an extra person or two into the room can make a noticeable distance — your combined body heat and the heat of your exhalation will help warm the room.
Two things are important to keep in mind with this method: the smaller the room and the more physically active the people in it, the warmer it will get.
In other words, a lively party in a small room will produce a lot more heat than a few people sitting on couches in a large living room.
If your friends are busy, even pets can make a room a little warmer (unless they're cold-blooded — fish and lizards aren't helpful here). , This trick may seem a little ridiculous, but it does work.
After all, a hair dryer is essentially a small space heater with a fan in it.
You can blow hot air directly onto your bed or lift up the covers and point the hairdryer underneath to create a pocket of warm air for you to lie in.
Be careful not to touch the hot metal elements at the end of your hair dryer with your bedsheets, especially if they're made of a fabric that's prone to melting (like polyester, etc.) -
Step 3: Put hot water bottle in your bed.
-
Step 4: Plug drafts with spare blankets.
-
Step 5: Make the most of existing heaters or radiators.
-
Step 6: Invite people into the room.
-
Step 7: Get a hair dryer and lightly blow the bed with the dryer.
Detailed Guide
One of the easiest ways of all to keep your room warmer is to use the sun, mother nature's original space heater.
In general, you'll want to allow as much warm sunlight into your room as possible during the day and to prevent that warmth from leaving at night.
For best results, you'll also need to know which windows in your room the sun shines through — generally, these are south-facing windows in the Northern Hemisphere and north-facing windows in the Southern Hemisphere.Here's simple sample schedule you may want to use:
Morning:
Before you leave for work or school, close all of your room's windows.
Open the blinds all the way.
Afternoon:
Leave your blinds open until sun stops shining into your room.
As soon as it starts to get dark and cold, close the blinds.
Night:
Keep the blinds and windows closed throughout the night to preserve heat.
In a world where the climate impact of household practices is becoming a bigger concern, many environment-conscious consumers are choosing to heat the person, not the room.
Wearing a coat, a jacket, or some sweat pants indoors is a great way to stay warm without using an ounce of heating energy (or spending a penny on your heating bill.) If your room is especially cold at night, you might try wearing layers at night.
Though some people find this uncomfortable, soft garments like sweatpants and "hoodie" sweatshirts usually give the most warmth without sacrificing much comfort.
Artificial fabrics that don't "breathe" like polyester, rayon, and so on generally trap the most heat (this is why they're so uncomfortable in the summer). , One of the worst feelings in the world is navigating an ice-cold room in your pajamas only to slide into a sub-zero bed.
While your bed should heat up once you're in it, you can avoid this awful feeling by heating it up before you get in.
A hot water bottle is one great way to do this — simply fill it with steaming water, close the lid tight, and leave it in the center of your bed under the covers 15 minutes before you go to bed..
As it cools, it will dissipate heat into your bed, leaving it nice and toasty when you get in.
Medical water bottles are available at many pharmacies for around $15 or less.
If you're using a microwave to heat your water, be sure to use a microwave-safe container (like a glass or ceramic bowl). , The last thing you want when you're trying to heat a room is a draft (sometimes spelled "draught"), a spot where cool air can leak into the room.
Keep any drafts plugged up with spare rags or blankets while you're waiting for a more permanent solution (like replacing a leaky window, etc.) When drafts are especially bad, this simple fix can make a big difference.
Not sure whether you have a draft? There are several ways to discover them.
One is simply to hold your hand near a crack in a window or door and feel for the motion of air.
You can also use a candle — if its flame flickers near a crack, you have a draft.
Try the U.S.
Government's draft-detecting tips at energy.gov for more ideas. , Do you have a heater or radiator in your room that doesn't seem to be making a difference when it comes to keeping you warm? Use these tips to increase their effectiveness (and save you money you'd otherwise be wasting):
Make sure there are no pieces of furniture between the heater or radiator and yourself.
For instance, many older houses hide radiators behind couches.
Put a sheet of tinfoil behind a radiator (use a sheet about the same a size as the radiator itself).
This reflects heat that would normally be transmitted into the wall, heating the rest of the room.
If your heater is portable, use it in the smallest space possible so that it can most effectively heat you.
For instance, a space heater will heat a small bedroom much better than it will heat a large living room. , It's easy to forget that human beings are essentially walking, talking, biological furnaces, constantly emitting heat into the air around them.
Bringing an extra person or two into the room can make a noticeable distance — your combined body heat and the heat of your exhalation will help warm the room.
Two things are important to keep in mind with this method: the smaller the room and the more physically active the people in it, the warmer it will get.
In other words, a lively party in a small room will produce a lot more heat than a few people sitting on couches in a large living room.
If your friends are busy, even pets can make a room a little warmer (unless they're cold-blooded — fish and lizards aren't helpful here). , This trick may seem a little ridiculous, but it does work.
After all, a hair dryer is essentially a small space heater with a fan in it.
You can blow hot air directly onto your bed or lift up the covers and point the hairdryer underneath to create a pocket of warm air for you to lie in.
Be careful not to touch the hot metal elements at the end of your hair dryer with your bedsheets, especially if they're made of a fabric that's prone to melting (like polyester, etc.)
About the Author
Brian Parker
Specializes in breaking down complex crafts topics into simple steps.
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