Avoid heat escapes

How to avoid heat escapes

In older houses, with windows now deteriorated, the points where the heat comes out are numerous. This entails negative consequences both as regards the costs of heating, both for what concerns the comfort of environments. Statistics show that in an average home the leaks of heat, added together, create a heat loss as big as what you would have with a hole of half a meter in diameter.

1) To detect any leak of heat put a candle close to the edges of the frames. When the flame moves is a sign of the presence of a crack.

2) Insulating flanges are available for all your needs. The more common are made of foam with adhesive backing.


3) To apply a draft excluder flange along the bottom of a window it must be cut to the right length.

4) The flange is released from the paper that protects the adhesive. Do not touch it with your fingers and clean the bottom area of the window.


5) Place the beaded door weatherstrip along the bottom edge of the window. Once positioned press it with your fingers so that the sticky side sticks correctly. Then close and open the window a few times to make sure the flange is positioned correctly and it is perfectly stable.

6) There are also trims that are interposed between the edge of the window and the door frame, sealing the crack.


7) If there are no leaks of heat at the edge of the window glass, seal the cracks with silicone. To refine the intervention wipe it with a wet finger.

8) The wing flanges allow you to obtain good results: the flexible wings should be positioned firmly against the wood when you close the window.

9) Attach a draft excluder welt-type broom along the lower edge of an entrance door, so that it touches the floor.

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Choice of windows and thermal insulation

The fixtures take place without a doubt an important role from an aesthetic point of view, like a well-chosen frame can enhance the beauty of a painting. At the same time, however, it is important that they can meet the criteria of thermal and acoustic insulation, to make the interiors of the places welcoming and efficient.

Fixtures manufactured using the most modern techniques, combined with glasses less efficient, can lead to substantial savings in terms of fuel consumption to heat the house during winter and to cool it during the warmer months. The main materials used are wood, PVC and aluminum, they can in various ways, respond very well to the requirements of insulation of the house.

The timber, in particular, is a material that has great insulation capability among its natural characteristics, even if among the various materials is perhaps the most delicate one, as subject to the risk of deformation.

For more durable and long lasting solutions, there are fixtures that combine wood and aluminum, using the excellent resistance of the second with the elegant and natural look of the first. The PVC is the most economical and aesthetically less valuable material, however, it is able to offer optimal performance from the point of view of thermal insulation: it is a good compromise between cost, appearance and efficiency.

If the materials are important, the realization techniques are even more influential in obtaining good results: the profiles are composed of more modern levels, separated by air chambers, to enhance the insulation.

In the choice of insulating frames should not forget the doors: in this case you will find the best compromise between aesthetics, safety and thermal insulation to avoid disturbances that result in higher energy costs.

Of course the windows, by themselves, can not guarantee a total energy efficiency: the choice of excellent fixtures is not worth it if you don't take care of all the other aspects to improve the performance of the house, and especially if you do not select suitable glasses. Also in this case, the technology has made much progress in recent years and the solutions available on the market are many, designed to offer high efficiency in different environmental conditions.

Draft excluders, double doors and double glazed windows, special seals and thick curtains are all solutions that can help improving efficiency if it is not possible to intervene by replacing the fixtures. In this way, you can create additional barriers that will limit heat losses.