Now that summer is over and the colder seasons are quickly approaching, it is becoming increasingly important to consider alternative heating options, and how to heat your business during winter. Due to the ever-rising energy costs, heating in winter will become the focal point of many conversations over the coming months, so it is vital to ensure that you are prepared before the freezing temperatures set in.
This article will give you a few cost-effective ideas about how to heat your business in the winter, aside from traditional boilers and radiators so that you can stay warm this winter.
- Fill in any crevices and cracks in the walls
This is a method of alternative heating that you probably haven’t considered. You may think that those little cracks won’t make a difference, but you’ll soon notice a sense of inescapable cold once the temperatures plummet. By getting in there early and filling in any potential airways in your walls, you’ll save yourself a lot of money that would otherwise be spent on heating in the long run.
Additionally to heating in the winter, you’ll also keep creepy crawlies out of your building. Insects that would ordinarily use the cracks in your walls as pathways to the refuge that is your business will be shut out. So, as well as heating your business, you’ll encounter far fewer unwanted pests.
- Put up some thick blinds
Are you wondering how to heat your business in the winter, but in a way that won’t trap warmth during the summer? Thick blinds are the best removable method of ensuring that your business stays at a nice temperature in the winter. They do wonders for insulation by creating an impenetrable barrier between your freezing windows and your slow-warming business, and once the temperature starts rising, you can replace them with thinner blinds for better airflow, or remove them altogether.
- Close the doors to unused rooms
A great way to control your heating in winter is to close the doors to unused rooms. When heat travels around a larger space, it will take far longer than if it only needed to spread around a smaller room. Therefore, by putting up a barrier between the rooms you’re trying to heat and the ones that you won’t use and interrupting the airflow in the process, you’ll be heating your business far more efficiently.
- Install an air source heat pump air conditioner
This may seem counterproductive, as air conditioners are generally associated with summer and cooling rooms down as opposed to heating them. However, this alternative heating method can feed two birds with one scone, as air conditioners can double as heaters! So, as well as saving yourself from the wrath of summer heat waves, you’ll also give yourself a great source of heating in winter with energy savings as air source heat pump air conditioners can provide heat at a rate of 1 to 3 conventional electric heaters will provide.
The components inside the air conditioner essentially work in reverse to expel warm air as opposed to cold air, and they’re incredibly simple to use.
Although the upfront costs of air conditioner installation can be quite expensive, the machines themselves are investments in disguise that will provide you with more positive effects in the long run than the initial cost will set you back. Not to mention, air conditioners circulate warm air far faster than the average radiator. So, much less energy is wasted while waiting for your system to heat to temperature. Additionally, you’ll save yourself money on maintaining both an air conditioning unit for the summer and a radiator system for the winter.
Alternatively, if you already have an air conditioner installed but you’re noticing that it isn’t heating your business as well as it should be, you may be in need of air conditioning repair. You should have your air conditioner fixed as soon as possible to ensure that your business will be heated this winter.
- Let the sunlight in during the day
Letting in as much natural light during the day is a great alternative heating method to start warming up the rooms in your building without using any other costly heat sources. Once the day is over and you have warmed your business with the use of the sun, you can draw your thick curtains and trap the heat until the next day.
- Move your furniture away from heat sources
This is likely a method you didn’t consider, and it may be difficult for you to partake in this step because of space restrictions. But, if you can move your furniture, now is as good a time as any. You probably don’t realise how much your furniture is blocking your heat sources and how much your heating is being restricted. When the warm air is not circulating as it should, you’ll probably turn your heating up a lot more than necessary to compensate for the lost heat and waste unnecessary amounts of money in the process.
Rearrange your seating, tables, or plants to allow the circulation of warm air and you’ll notice a difference right away.
- Insulate your pipes
Insulating your pipes is an indirect method of ensuring that your business is heated throughout the winter. Pipes are especially prone to freezing in low temperatures, which can prevent hot water from reaching the radiators that keep you and your employees warm. Pipe insulation is relatively inexpensive and recommended for businesses in the winter to ensure that your heating system continues functioning normally.
- Establish a comfortable temperature
Turning your thermostat down just 1 degree can save up to 10% on your heating bill. So, by conversing with your employees you can collectively establish the temperatures at which everybody is comfortable so that you can turn the heating down to save money. But also keep everybody happy.
We hope that at least one of the points from this list of cost-effective ways to heat your business this winter is employed in your business.
