{"id":118,"date":"2014-06-04T11:43:54","date_gmt":"2014-06-04T11:43:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/?p=118"},"modified":"2014-06-04T11:43:54","modified_gmt":"2014-06-04T11:43:54","slug":"energy-efficient-steps-to-staying-warm-this-winter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/2014\/06\/energy-efficient-steps-to-staying-warm-this-winter\/","title":{"rendered":"Energy-Efficient Steps to Staying Warm This Winter"},"content":{"rendered":"

Winter has arrived! That means hauling out your wooly jerseys, coats, hats and boots \u2013 it also means making sure that your home is as warm as possible without sending your bank balance into the red. Opt for energy-efficient heating and you\u2019ll sail through winter.<\/em><\/p>\n

Step 1: Dress for the cold<\/strong><\/p>\n

When you dress lightly indoors, you naturally feel the chill more and are more likely to turn the heat up. So make sure that you are wrapped up well and feel cozy and comfy at home \u2013 it\u2019s the first step to lowering your electricity bill.<\/p>\n

Step 2: Choose an energy-efficient space heater<\/strong><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t just rush out and buy a heater \u2013 it\u2019s an important purchase and a good heater will make a difference in your home for years to come. A good energy-efficient space heater can heat up the room in use with amazing results. Consider these options:<\/p>\n

Gas heaters<\/p>\n

Portable gas heaters cost more than electric heaters but are considerably cheaper to run. These heaters burn propane, kerosene, butane, or natural gas and instantly generate heat. Ensure that the room is properly ventilated to avoid headaches or nausea.<\/p>\n

Radiant heaters<\/p>\n

If you are going to be in a room only for a few hours, then the most energy efficient electric heater is the infra-red radiant heater. These heaters provide instant heat and can efficiently spread warmth throughout a room.<\/p>\n

Convection heaters<\/p>\n

These are usually oil heaters. Oil stores heat so the appliance doesn\u2019t have to re-heat often in order to keep the temperature constant. Rooms are kept warm for some time after the heater is switched off. Caution is needed because they can burn unwary children or pets.<\/p>\n

Wall panel heaters<\/p>\n

Wall panel heaters are inexpensive to buy and run, easy to install, safe for children and pets, and you can paint the panel to suit your wall. They take a little time to heat up but will heat a whole room for a long period of time.<\/p>\n

Step 3: Insulate your home<\/strong><\/p>\n

Without proper insulation, heat can escape. With good insulation you just heat the room to a desirable temperature and then turn off the heater. The room should remain warm for hours.<\/p>\n

Seal windows<\/p>\n

Wood windows can leave gaps when they are closed. Prevent this by installing draught-proofing strips which you can get at your local hardware store. If you fit draught excluders on all your windows and outer doors you should be able to reduce heat loss by up to 25%.<\/p>\n

Raise the door threshold<\/p>\n

Raise the threshold of any doors leading outside so that there is no gap under the door for cold air to enter. Go a step further by sealing around the door frame with rubber draught excluders, which also help to stop the door rattling in the wind.<\/p>\n

Insulate ceilings<\/p>\n

You can buy insulation fabric from a hardware store and lay it yourself, but do consider the great eco-friendly and cost-effective alternatives available from professional installers who use recycled paper, cellulose and PET bottles. Good insulation massively reduces heat loss.<\/p>\n

Happiness is keeping the heat up and your bills down!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Winter has arrived! That means hauling out your wooly jerseys, coats, hats and boots \u2013 it also means making sure that your home is as warm as possible without sending your bank balance into the red. Opt for energy-efficient heating and you\u2019ll sail through winter. Step 1: Dress for the cold When you dress lightly<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":119,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-opinion","post_format-post-format-image"],"yoast_head":"\nEnergy-Efficient Steps to Staying Warm This Winter - Thebe Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Energy-Efficient Steps to Staying Warm This Winter - Thebe Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Winter has arrived! That means hauling out your wooly jerseys, coats, hats and boots \u2013 it also means making sure that your home is as warm as possible without sending your bank balance into the red. Opt for energy-efficient heating and you\u2019ll sail through winter. Step 1: Dress for the cold When you dress lightly\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/2014\/06\/energy-efficient-steps-to-staying-warm-this-winter\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Thebe Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-06-04T11:43:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/HeatUp-620x350.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"620\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"350\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"stratitude\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"stratitude\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/2014\/06\/energy-efficient-steps-to-staying-warm-this-winter\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/2014\/06\/energy-efficient-steps-to-staying-warm-this-winter\/\",\"name\":\"Energy-Efficient Steps to Staying Warm This Winter - Thebe Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-06-04T11:43:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-06-04T11:43:54+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/#\/schema\/person\/355c73c2306d8dd883988ede584b73d2\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/2014\/06\/energy-efficient-steps-to-staying-warm-this-winter\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/2014\/06\/energy-efficient-steps-to-staying-warm-this-winter\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/2014\/06\/energy-efficient-steps-to-staying-warm-this-winter\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Energy-Efficient Steps to Staying Warm This Winter\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/\",\"name\":\"Thebe Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/#\/schema\/person\/355c73c2306d8dd883988ede584b73d2\",\"name\":\"stratitude\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b0318cabb1f01f271013ac51dd2e41937da7a7265c5f7ee4073612decc0656?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b0318cabb1f01f271013ac51dd2e41937da7a7265c5f7ee4073612decc0656?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"stratitude\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/author\/stratitude\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Energy-Efficient Steps to Staying Warm This Winter - Thebe Blog","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Energy-Efficient Steps to Staying Warm This Winter - Thebe Blog","og_description":"Winter has arrived! That means hauling out your wooly jerseys, coats, hats and boots \u2013 it also means making sure that your home is as warm as possible without sending your bank balance into the red. Opt for energy-efficient heating and you\u2019ll sail through winter. Step 1: Dress for the cold When you dress lightly","og_url":"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/2014\/06\/energy-efficient-steps-to-staying-warm-this-winter\/","og_site_name":"Thebe Blog","article_published_time":"2014-06-04T11:43:54+00:00","og_image":[{"width":620,"height":350,"url":"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/HeatUp-620x350.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"stratitude","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"stratitude","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/2014\/06\/energy-efficient-steps-to-staying-warm-this-winter\/","url":"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/2014\/06\/energy-efficient-steps-to-staying-warm-this-winter\/","name":"Energy-Efficient Steps to Staying Warm This Winter - Thebe Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2014-06-04T11:43:54+00:00","dateModified":"2014-06-04T11:43:54+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/#\/schema\/person\/355c73c2306d8dd883988ede584b73d2"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/2014\/06\/energy-efficient-steps-to-staying-warm-this-winter\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/2014\/06\/energy-efficient-steps-to-staying-warm-this-winter\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/2014\/06\/energy-efficient-steps-to-staying-warm-this-winter\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Energy-Efficient Steps to Staying Warm This Winter"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/","name":"Thebe Blog","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/#\/schema\/person\/355c73c2306d8dd883988ede584b73d2","name":"stratitude","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b0318cabb1f01f271013ac51dd2e41937da7a7265c5f7ee4073612decc0656?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b0318cabb1f01f271013ac51dd2e41937da7a7265c5f7ee4073612decc0656?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"stratitude"},"url":"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/author\/stratitude\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":120,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118\/revisions\/120"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}