Best DIY Home Heating : Cheap, Easy
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- Опубликовано: 5 сен 2024
- Wendy Tremayne shows how easy it is to open and close curtains for passive solar heating. Her home heating bill has never exceeded $45 for a 1,100 square foot uninsulated trailer. The night time temperature that this film was made was down to 6F with windchill and day time high was only 36F. No heating was required during the day and the home heating unit only kicked on 3 times for 15 minute runs during the night to maintain a stable 60F indoor temperature.
I've done the same thing for years, and it's really good that you went to all the trouble to make the video and show those who just haven't figured it out yet...or some who never would. This is a good example of sharing something that really works and can really help some save money and live more comfortably with less expense. Thank you!
I never would have thought of that : Note to self: Open Curtains make room warmer.
BRILLIANT
NOTE TO SELF: DONT HANG AROUND KAREN.
Excellent tips! I'm just poor and don't have a working furnace, it's been getting into the low teens and this will help a lot! Thank you! ❤
I'm thinking you live in a pretty mild climate. When we were in our trailer, similar vintage, with the light insulation that came stock in the trailer, we used these same tricks. It was not too bad in the day, but at night, when the temps dropped to 11° outside, we were hard pressed to keep a hot enough fire in the wood stove to make it bearable in the trailer.
I live in the UK, but I just googled "Acrylic glazing panels" and I found some at a local builder's merchant, who even cut them to the exact size I needed. I then bought the self adhesive "magenetic glazing tape" from ebay. I tried out the whole concept in a small room with just one window and once I realised it worked so well I gradually did one window at a time until they were all done. I did it a few years ago when the outside temperature here dropped to -10C (14F) so was really pleased!
If you had a thermometer to know what the house temperature was when it was 14F outside what was the temperature indoors after doing what you mentioned in your post while the temperature was 14F outside?
@@NicholasPeters1 I usually keep the inside around 19-20C. If I remember right even in rooms with no heating it stayed about 10C. Obviously it depends how much heating you have and eventually with no heating at all the temperature will more or less equalise. The point of the glazing is to minimise heat loss and the secondary glazing reduced the heating bill by around half. Full double glazing would be even more.
@@spiritusinfinitus Oh ok. I can't go glazing because I don't know how to do anything with fixing stuff but I am hoping I can try some of the stuff in the video. I have felt drafts coming out a bit around/from the sides of my windows though (as I was considering some tape to put around the sides of the windows to prevent the draft from coming in) but I'll see what I can do.
We moved to an older farmhouse last year, which I adore, but quickly had to learn these tricks, mostly in the summer for us. It makes a HUGE difference. I love my windows open, but I close all the blinds on the east side in the morning. Mid-afternoon, i open those and close the west side. I also try to keep the cool air from overnight in as long as possible without opening the doors too much in the morning. If the doors are not left open too much, it could stay cool in here all day just from doing this, even in 90-degree temps. Funny I never thought of it until moving here
You can also put sand in a couple of buckets, in the back yard! The sun will heat the sand all day or two! Bring them in the house and they will heat up a couple of rooms all night! Sleeping in comfort, is a beautiful thing!! :))
Its good to dream
Cecilie M Thanks!
Cecilie M Would a couple of sand bags work the same?
+flanmaryj Hi! You have to put the sand in buckets, in the hot summer; so that the sun, can heat the steel buckets! For additional holding of heat; wrap aluminum around the bucket. That process will hold the heat and heat a med. size room! Use about 7 to 8 buckets and put them where you would want the heat to radiate!
Cecilie M Thanks for the tip. I'll have to try this one day.
Thank you so much for sharing!
I wish my family could understand with me the simplicity of this but they are not in the same mindset and don't care about our $200/month heating/electric bills! They have now left me so I can how bunker down and hopefully find someone like-minded to enjoy life with!
DJ H damn mines $500 a month in nz
I've told you b4, that nuthouse is not you're real home.
I've been down that road.
My adult children Don't either...but they don't pay the bills either
Believe me I do understand!!
If you can put some insulation in your walls either the blow kind where you might drill a hole in the inner wall and push it in, or you can do what I did. I went to a Lowes or Home Depot and bought 8' x 4' x 1" sheets of insulation (just for one room) and that helped significantly with keeping the hot summer out and the cold winter out as well.
Also, I bought some really thick insulation and beefed up the insulation below the flooring.
For the windows you can do several things. You can get some spray foam insulation and go around the perimeter of the window the sections that don't move that helps as well.
Last time I looked at the costs of insulation, I was floored. Chimney pipe prices are also through the roof. Electric rates.. shocking. Seems no matter how anyone turns, their pocketbook/wallet gets abused.
Zen Kitteh Absolutely correct. Our country is all about abuse! I looked at some other videos that show people making water heaters out of aluminum cans.
Listen I know about high prices but you don't have to buy it all at once. Buy one sheet at a time if you can. You will be amazed at how much that starts to help. If you can't find that then find some heavy blankets or tapestries to put on the wall. Cold walls, cold furniture will suck the heat out of a room very quickly.
I'm grateful I live in an area South of the Border on the West Coast that rarely goes below 45 degrees. My one room house does not have a heater. I put a thick cotton sheet over the front door and stuff the cracks and regular sheets over the bathroom door I cover the wooden desk with a baby smooth baby blanket I put large towels on the wooden head and base boards on the bed and a blanket over the washing machine. My wall to wall carpet is a tapestry of carpets I have found on the street and washed as best I could to cover the concrete floor.
You will be amazed at how many people have come up with very clever ideas to make heat, electricity etc. with every day things.
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I'm in love with those thick drapes! I ended up getting stuck in a rental that I was supposed to be out of in 3 months. During the summer the interior upstairs is over a hundred and thirty degrees and in the winter downstairs in the dining room currently it is 19 degrees and it is 30 degrees outside! It is a trailer house with zero insulation as I have seen the plastic on the back wall being replaced. The heater never worked and they told me that they would replace the furnace after I moved out I've been here over 5 years now. It's miserable you can't work on your hobbies in the summer or in the winter. No heating Source no fireplace. I work out starting at midnight until 6 a.m. to keep warm.
The layering of drapes & foil is good
Reflectix is amazing. We just reroofed with metal roofing and installed the bubble wrap under the metal (as they do in large commercial buildings which any metal roofing supply will have or can get) and immediately noticed a difference in the upstairs rooms during the summer and feeling it will help during winter months as well. For a 22 square roof it was an additional 1,000.00.
WOW!!!!
Texas here & we sailed thru the 1 degree weather with window blinds & ur mylar bubble insulation & insulated drapes. It really did help & didnt see a spike in my utilities. Here 2 weeks after the deep freeze & we are having to turn our AC on now its so hot. Welcome to Texas.
Ii also live in a mobile home so I want you to know how much I truly appreciate this video.
Blessings ....Mercedes
Glad to see others doing this. Passive solar is always best. You can add old antifreeze jugs painted black in winter. They hold many BTUs heat and it is free.
Hi can you explain what you mean by old antifreeze jugs please? Empty plastic bottles? Antifreeze can be very poisonous and kill pets so can you suggest an alternative please?
I live N. Fla and gets freezing in the winter on and off. Im thinking double insulating single pane windows with thin sheets of plexiglass to see how that works, one or two windows at a time. Leave a little vented so the warm air flows into the rooms. I did so with two exterior doors with windows and it helps to kerp out the cold air. New windows would be nice but pricey.
Yes the silver bubble insulation is excellent. We used it in our windows when on location on a job in Las Vegas in the summer. It really helps summer or winter.
I do similar. I close off my house with curtains & live on one room. Saves money!
Thank-you for confirming what I have been telling my wife and kids for years. Perhaps they will listen now.
We do use gas heat on the nights where the temps go below freezing. Normally we can store up enough heat from the day and hold it overnight as we live in a very sunny climate.
+The Good Life Lab You may enjoy reading the Passive Solar Handbook by Rodale. There is an architects version.
+The Good Life Lab What is that silver thing on the window?
all I could think of was how this would be even more efficient with about $120 worth of home automation stuff, switches/temperature sensors etc.
Holy crap, I found a roll of that stuff somewhere and put it on my windows in the basement. It is awesome. I had to put plastic, wrapping tape around the edges to keep the glass from sucking heat around it though, but it is definitely worth putting on unnecessary windows since windows have been shown through thermal scanning of buildings to be the most common offenders for heat loss (missing/open windows and open doors are of course much worse, hahaha).
Actually, aluminum foil would work, but it would have to be glued to a quarter inch layer of Styrofoam to prevent convection loss of heat in the winter and sunlight-driven heat in the summer, because as you well know, a window with the sun beaming in during the summer will heat a trailer to over 100 easily -- not too comfy.
In the summer I also placed a large fan (pointing out, which is much more efficient for fans) in a window at the hotter end of the trailer during the summer, then turned it on in the evening to expel the hot, stale air of the day and bringing in fresh cooler evening air from open windows on the opposite, cooler end. In the morning I'd turn off the fan and close all windows so the cool air would remain to keep the trailer cool until the afternoon some time, when again you can turn it on low and enjoy a slightly cooler breeze or, just use the ac to keep temps down until the same routine can be done that evening. Additionally, for less than $100, you can get a large canister of white roof sealer which not only seals the roof from leaks, but also reflects the heat of summer.
The problem most people have with any such methods is they prefer to be lazy rather than proactive, and laziness in this case can cost you money, and cause health issues since you're not getting fresh air often enough.
Great advice.
Good for you!! I hate paying the electric bill. Great tip and thanks for sharing.
If you renovated the whole house why didn't you insulate the house?
$$$
Yeah no shit 🤣
I took the paneling off my living room, increased the studs to 2 x 4 and insulated with R11 which was better then I started with.
And if you put a house made of glass in your garden,
you can grow plants for longer, and keep them warmer!
We use foam and they have them in different thickness. You can easily cut to size
The simple ideas often save the most. Thanks for sharing.
Nice practical idea, I just wish we had sunshine like that for more than about three weeks a year here in the UK, as I doubt our bullet grey skies would produce much by way of heat. Now, if someone could figure out a way to harness the power of rain, we'd be laughing :-)
Jason Killbourn
actually they did, it's called a dam, more importantly is the water turbines that actually create the electricity, generating service like the old water mills...
shrink the scale of use and everyone generates water usage at home.
If I could harness the power of stupid havac companies, I'd be laughing 🤣
Great! Some of those windows look perfect for fitting very cheap acrylic secondary glazing panels. I halved my heating bills with it. The panels are also completely removable in summer if you clip it on with Magnetic Glazing Tape.
that's because the inside of the trailer is also in the teens! at no time do you explain the interior temps. i'm just being partially sarcastic. G. washington oriented his house to take advantage of summer-breeze direction to act as a natural air conditioner. It's smart to use whatever you can for free. you could build a heater to burn waste oil (people will give it away) or scrap paper briquettes. good luck
I LOVE IT. SMART AND SIMPLE LIVING IS THE WAY TO GO.
You are blessed to live where the sun shines. I live where the sun don't shine (much).. the state of misery (missouri).
Good video. Very smart way to use the sun.
Thank you for this video. We did this today at our apartment, and most of the day it was warm. thanks again!
I would spend summers with my grandmother at her farm, and they had a huge old farmhouse -- well, I was little, it was big to me -- but it was in the heart of hot, humid Virginia and she did not have a/c and pulled the shades during the day, and the house was so cool at night --Thanks for posting -- btw -- I am so jealous over your yellow tea pot in the window -- awesome !!
A thought came to mind ,is that a lot of the new window systems are made to keep the heat out so their might be a sweet spot in time to scope out your double pain windows,I'm thinking late 80s windows ,something to keep in mind!
living in Canada winters get pretty chilly.........thinking 'bout getting the double layer of curtains going right about now! thanks
What a wonderful video thank you for sharing ..you say bubble wrap.?? How to attach or put up I am just not sure. Pleae advise.. Thank you so much.
I need the help. Mercedes
This video came out before the Face Blanket was invented, a real game changer to save on heating costs
"Dear Madam. Thank you so much, for the tips." 🌹
Thank You. Merry Xmas ..
Bless your heart. What a lovely cozy home!😅
You bring that setup you use here to Northern WI & you'll have icicles hanging off your nose before you finish breakfast. Jack Frost can be Brutal up in these parts..even with good winders & insulation..A fer effort tho..
That's the truth.
Wow! That is really awesome! I guess it helps that you positioned the home toward the sun. The double curtains are a great idea! Thank you!
In my flat the sun comes on living room, but this is insufficient heat for night in winter UK temperature drops dramatically, even with sun in day too cold.
Do you have a video showing how you keep cool air during the summer?
I could see this working if your house was laid out just like hers, but where we live we have a patio and standard window facing north and two bedroom windows facing east. We also get very little sun here in MN during the winter. Lots of overcast days. However, our heating bill is only about $80 a month... Oh, and we are hitting -30F air temp tonight...a little bit colder here. LOL
Good information... but WHAT is that white vehicle in the background at 2:42???? Looks like something we could really use! Thank you.
they are made in china, look up chinese imported vehicles, they look cool but dont buy one! or at least buy 2 of them so you can ride 1 while the other one is brokendown.
Good work Wendy! There are other ways to heat free with passive solar with minimum investment. Solar hot air heaters are a good one to try. Simple and low cost. Finding ways to store solar is the biggest challenge for when the sun goes down but free daytime gain is very helpful. I saw some DC electric hot water heater elements that would work good in your climate with a PV solar panel. Thanks for the video. Your place looks great.
why's these special red curtains only on south and east side? and why the mylar wrap only on the east window?
Bubble Wrap might help, too, if you don't mind looking through windows that aren't really clear. But at least you will have light coming through.
Great video. We use the foam Rmax the same way. Thanks.
It just doesn't go blow 0 F where you are. At night it's already gone down to -10 F here in north east NY this winter and it's not even January yet.
I don't know who Mike is but can you tell him for me, his friend (as in you) is stunning not to mention, smart.
I love this video. I am returning to watch it again and to get a link to post to my group. I see you are an author now. I'll look out for your book.
in Winter time here in the Midwest, there are many days without Sun.....nice ideal if you live in Florida though
very smart and easy way, i was thinking about using black curtains,
whats that's silver thing called ?? I need to get that!!
Looks like Thermal wrap..People buy thermal blankets to use for camping made of the same material. I put up car windows as sun shield that are made of this as well.
But I heard of people using Dollar Tree bubble wrap too.
i did it as well at home, even more saving is to make those curtains on each entrance of each room of the house, it even will reduce your bill !!
the netherlands
Yeah, that works in the trailer we live in too, but only when the sun is actually shining. When it's cloudy, it's cold AF!
Great but what if Sun isn’t warm enough or it is cloudy?
so is the DIY part when you open curtains or close them?
We built a solar house and we were supposed to carefully close the curtains every evening when the sun went down. One problem with that is that you know what, some people are claustrophobic, and would not close a curtain and seldom close a window even if you paid them like a hundred dollar bill. So much for that. However, yes, solar works, but you can't let any claustrophobic people into your home if you want a common sense energy budget.
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Jay Dillon I suggest hanging really large mirrors to combat the claustrophobia. If you can reflect a painting or an image of an open window (mural), all the better. Gotta get creative when it comes to saving $$$!
Can you show how you attached the bubble wrap to the top of the window please? And so you have two separate curtain rods for each layer of curtains, correct? Can you show that too please? Forgive my ignorance, I am new to window coverings. Anybody know the cheapest place to get curtain rods? Thanks so much.
Easy, and simple makes this awesome! Plus it works.. Very Nice.
I do exactly the same thing and we really only have to use the furnace on cloudy days.
Ok but what about when theres no sun. Im in Michigan and 75% of our winter has no sun. Its cloudy all the time. So i guess this wouldnt work for me.....
If I ever have a home built out here in Cutter, NM you can bet I"m puttin a ton of windows on the south side. I'm lazy though needs to be a way to get the curtains to open and close automatically.
Believe it or not they DO HAVE automatic window blinds and curtains ... and you can also get some with remote controls that help you to do that .. some can be set by timers CHECK THIS OUT PLEASE! www.google.com/search?q=automatic+window+blonds+and+shades+&oq=automatic+window+blonds+and+shades+&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l2.11273j0j7&sourceid=chrome&espv=210&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8#q=automatic+or+remote+window+blinds+and+shades&tbm=shop
Paula Pierce Cool, optimally they would have a good insulating value to them to help keep heat in the home at night.
yeah they do! AND they are operated by remote control www.google.com/search?q=remote+control+blinds+and+curtains&oq=remote+control+blinds+and+curtains&aqs=chrome..69i57.7591j0j7&sourceid=chrome&espv=210&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8#q=remote+control+blinds+and+curtains&tbm=shop
Some people use water barrels with rocks so that the heat gain lasts longer. It would take longer for the water and rocks to release the heat.
One youtube guy dyed his water blue and black to find which gained the most heat.
I was looking for help, but I don’t have as much direct sun to warm up the house. Nice idea but apllyable only to few
Do you live above a hot spring?
I find it hard to believe that you only use 45$ worth of energy per month to heat.
No/low insulation=rapid heat loss through your roof & walls. Add to that some wind during the winter & that equals high heat loss.
SpiritBear12 I live in the far south & you are correct--sunset here was @5:42pm today--even so--45$ per month for her heating cost is very low. She either has great insulation or she has a very small home to heat--either way, it's hard to believe.
SpiritBear12 Indeed. Her numbers don't jibe.
The only problem to what she demonstrates is: New windows with energy efficient glass do not provide any passive solar heat, you don't feel any warmth coming thru the glass in the winter no matter how much the sun shines. With old windows we did not need so much heating like now, with new replacement windows. After all, is the new energy efficient glass really so energy efficient?
new energy efficient window might also helps keep your electricity bill low in both winter and summer. We just had these windows installed, and right now its 38 F outside and inside is 63 F at my 2 stories house with heating off right now. We dont have good insulation in the walls and still having energy efficient windows helps a lot. I can feel the difference in temp from last year around.
No prob,..I demo'ed my house & rebuilt it so the sun comes through the windows,...saved a ton.
love your idea. you seem so happy.
Good ideas and, goodness knows, I like to be warm, but sad that you have to close up everything so early.
Neat idea! This granny is going to get a remodel. We're due get the aluminum Windows thing I have cruntins already
This seems good for now October, but what about when it gets cold?
Heat by the sun, who would have thunk?
Well see the problem is, during the winter usually the sun is not out. It is usually overcast and/or raining. So if you've got sun during the day it's probably spring in which case yeah, it's going to start warming up outside.
She has a Stevie Nicks look about her..those eyes..great vid thanks..😊
U should try the pot great method, would ke u warmer than just the sun.
Hi Mikey, Hi Wendy, did you guys insulate the exterior of the home? With like a spray-on stucco? I am gong to assume that you did not, but want to make sure. Fantastic video, thanks for the info.
Holy Scrap! That's sofa king cool
Not 2 aggravate u Adam Coleman but I call BULLSHIT. I'm sure it helps alot, but $45 gas bill in a mobile home in the teens?
It doesn't stay in the teens all day all month there like it does in other areas. She is talking about what works for her in New Mexico. What works for her in New Mexico is still useful in other areas to reduce the heating bill at least a little. For more effective solar heat systems check out videos from people who live further north.
It's January, and I do not see any snow outside. I am guessing you are not in a really cold area of the country?
Where can I buy the thermal thing you have behind the layers of curtains ?
Unfortunately we don't get any sun up in these mountains with all the trees.
Do you deal with much condensation with insulation on the window? I live in a moist part of the country and anything against my windows gets soaked.
It also helps if you live in S. New Mexico where the average daytime temp is most of the time around 50F.
Teaching us how to open and clothes our window coverings at the right time of day?
Where do ya buy the stuff? Great video, but I don't know where to look for the mylar.
What about cloudy days that last for several days
She makes me want to come over when Mikey isn't there and close the drapes. :-D
And if there's no sun what do you do
Clip on CURTIAN HOOKS on to installation the put dmsll today to hang installation.
Sweet! A simple solution for a Complex Situation! Thanks
Love this video ! Enjoyed watching it !
single pain windows, wow! Im in WI its -10 right now without the wind chill, single pain windows here would be a solid block of ice on the inside.
I love your window insulation looks like I’ll be doing some insulating on my windows but I do have to ask about the he myelin that you used where can one purchase the silver covering for the windows
And hardware store! :)
I also have those kinda curtains and they do work but I’m in Northern Ontario hun and sometimes it’s -40 degrees burrrr
Will this work in Canada ? What if the house is big ? What if you ran out if warmth during night time ?
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Hello..thank you for wonderful tip. You look like my sister Nancy..Happy New Year!
Impossible. The sun heats up the house that well... That gets me wondering, what planet are you on/ just how close is the sun to your mobile home?
This works for any home. I live in a duplex built in the 30's original windows. Open blinds during day, turn off heat at night, only use heat couple hours in the early morning.