Drafty apartment got your teeth chattering? Unfortunately, property managers don’t have a lot of incentive to invest in the best insulation, and that can make your renting life miserable come winter. However, with a little do-it-yourself determination, you can improve your heating situation—without moving to a brand new space. Here are six suggestions to keep you snug in your unit all winter long.
1. Change your HVAC filters.
This is not just something your property manager made up. Replacing your filters every month helps your rental’s heat work more efficiently, saving you money on your energy bills while keeping you nice and warm. And the cleaner your filters, the purer the air in your space, since the heater isn’t just distributing dust, pollen, and other allergens all over the place. That’s important, especially when the cold weather keeps you confined indoors for days on end.
2. Use window treatments to your advantage.
Ever wonder how our ancestors did it before heat and AC? The answer comes down to some careful passive heating and cooling techniques, which you can apply now to keep your apartment warmer without turning up the thermostat. Use the physical properties of solar heat to your advantage to help you stay warm. That one sunny spot that always gets too hot in the summer? On sunnier winter days, pull up the blinds and open the curtains, and let that warm sunlight pour in.
3. Purchase a few area rugs.
Those hardwood floors looked great in the listing photos when you were searching for a new apartment, but they can get mighty chilly when temperatures drop. Carpeting, on the other hand, is a natural insulator, which can actually raise the R-value of an apartment or home—the measure of how insulated it is. Obviously, in a rental, installing your own wall-to-wall carpeting isn’t an option. To get some of the insulating benefits, buy a large area rug and lay it down in the living room or dining area, or layer several smaller rugs for a cool, unique look.
4. Do a little DIY air sealing.
If you live in an
apartment, you probably aren’t used to making a lot of your own repairs. But unless your maintenance team is really on the ball, resealing windows and doors typically isn’t on their radar. A lot of times, those cracks and crevices can let in chills and drafts that keep you shivering even when the heat is on full blast. In fact, if your windows and doors are really leaky, a full 30 percent of your heat may be going right out the door. A door sweep is an easy, low-cost way to secure gaps in exterior exits. If your
apartment features sliding glass doors, try applying silicone caulking to the cracks, and hang insulating curtains over the glass.
5. Apply window insulator film.
If you have especially draft-prone windows, you may want to go the extra mile and install window insulator film over the glass. This plastic film fits your window frame to block out the wind and keep your heat working more efficiently. It’s an affordable solution for poorly insulated windows and is easy enough for even a novice handyman to install.
[tweetthis]Window insulator film helps block the wind and keeps your heat working more efficiently this #winter.[/tweetthis]
6. Buy an energy efficient space heater.
Sometimes the only way to beat the cold is to turn up the heat. But space heaters are traditionally pretty inefficient heating sources since they require lots of electricity in exchange for the heat they give off. Look for an energy-efficient model, such as an adjustable ceramic heater, that can be repositioned to heat a larger square footage—without ramping up your electricity bills.
For even more tips on efficiently staying warm this winter,
check out this post full of budget tips.
