More than 50% of a household’s energy bill goes to heating, so it’s important to find ways to save.
Even if you’ve done everything you can to reduce your carbon footprint and energy use, you might still be using more heat than you need to. If you don’t take the time to turn off a radiator in a room you don’t use very often, you could be wasting money.
Here are three things to think about before turning off a radiator that you don’t need.
- How well do you keep heat in or out?
If your house is well insulated, you don’t have to worry about leaving a radiator on in a room you don’t use. Since the rest of the house is well insulated and the one room you don’t use has no heat, you shouldn’t be losing too much heat.
Even though balance will be needed on the other side, you have many options if the only place air can get out is under the door. You might not have to worry about the heat if you just add a draft blocker.
Some older homes don’t have as good of insulation as newer ones, so if you’re not sure, you might want to keep a little heat on. If you don’t, all of your heat will try to move to the colder room to make the temperature even.
- Is mold a problem?
Radiators make a lot of dry heat, which is one of the things that makes them unique. If you’re not used to it, you might find that you use more moisturizer and lotion in the winter than you thought you would. Both cold and dry heat can do a lot of damage to your skin.
But if mildew is a problem in your home or you want to keep it from being a problem, adding some dry heat might be a good idea. If you live in a wetter or rainier area, the cool air after it rains can help mildew and mold growth.
Keep your radiator’s flow going to keep it from coming into your space.
- For how long do you stay out?
You might think this is a good idea if you only stay out for a day or two at a time, but it might be more trouble than it’s worth.
If you don’t go into a room for a whole season, it might not be worth keeping it warm. You can cover the windows with plastic and tape to keep drafts out, but the rooms don’t need much attention in general. If you put a draft blocker in the doorway, you won’t have to worry about heating rooms that you never go into.
It can be smart to turn off a radiator
Whether or not you should turn off a radiator in your home depends on a lot of things. If you know why you might need the radiator, you can make a good choice that could save you money.
Check out our guide if you want to learn more about how to balance the output of your radiator.
