We are now in the middle of the autumn season, so it seems very interesting to share with you some tips on how to save on heating using wool, as the temperatures drop and with the time change the daylight hours are also reduced. Some households have already started to use the heating.
In this post we also want to take a look back to when heating existed in the home (as we know it today), debunk false myths about the use of heating, and above all give you 3 very practical tips to use less heating in your home.
The electricity bill
The average natural gas cost of a home (2021) in Spain is almost 5,100kWh/year according to the SPAHOUSEC II study by the IDAE (Institute for Energy Saving and Energy Diversification), although the value changes depending on whether you have electric heating or not. This is because natural gas heating accounts for 70% of the energy bill in the winter months.
How much could we save by turning off the heating at night? Turning off the heating system while you sleep reduces energy consumption by up to 10%, as you can use duvets and blankets to keep warm. Of all the energy costs incurred in the average home in our country, heating accounts for 47% of the total throughout the year.
Leaving the heating on all day
Is it better to leave the heating on all day, even at a reasonable temperature? The answer is no, as this habit will increase the price you pay on your gas or electricity bill. Keeping the heating on all day means unnecessary energy consumption that is not comparable to the little extra effort the system has to make to start up after it has been switched off. On the other hand, continued use of heating will increase our carbon footprint, as we will generate many more CO2 emissions.
By leaving the radiators running while we sleep we are consuming energy that is not necessary, as when we go to sleep in winter we wrap up warm and use thicker duvets.
According to a study by the IDAE, the comfort temperature in a closed environment such as a house with “passive” activity is between 21°C and 23°C during the day and between 15°C and 17°C at night. For each additional degree the energy consumption increases by about 7%.
The ideal is to keep it off during sleeping hours or when we are not at home, and to restart the system one hour before waking up or coming home.
But how long has heating been around at home? Read on because we are sure you will be surprised…
The origin of heating
Indoor heating has not been around forever, our grandparents lived for many years without the comfort of heating their homes as we know it today, but how did they heat themselves?
Fire has always been the main method of heating, but over the centuries it has evolved from direct heat with fire to indirect heat that was safer for people.
Korean Ondols: The Koreans developed, more than 3000 years ago, a radiant floor heating system, called Ondol. A fire burned under a masonry floor that absorbed the heat and transferred it to the room.
Korean Ondols
Later; in 300 B.C. in ancient Greece, the heating system called hypocaust was used in the thermal baths of Olympia and Syracuse. The oldest of the installations consisted of a coal-fired boiler, a network of pipes and radiators that ran along the floor and sometimes the walls of the rooms, leaving the heat behind before it escaped through the flue to the outside. This system survived until very recently in Muslim and later Christian Hispania.
An important improvement was the invention of the cooker: the hearth (fire) remained closed, protecting people from burns. In 1619, the first comprehensive work on cookers was published by Franz Kessler. This work describes the principles of heating used in Germany at the time, which were not further developed until the 19th century.
In 1919, Alice H. Parker, an African-American woman, patented a central heating system at the age of 24 that used convention currents to transport heat through ducts that ran through the building and laid the foundation for what we know today as boiler central heating.
By the mid-20th century, there were several options for heating homes, from boilers to furnaces fuelled by oil, propane, natural gas and electricity. In short, central heating as we know it today has been around for about 70 years, and probably only in the wealthiest and most modern homes.
And how did people who had no heating live?
Fireplaces, braziers and textiles in the home were the protagonists against the cold winter, especially in some inland regions of Spain (as well as sharing small beds between many brothers, uncles, grandparents and even sleeping near the animals’ stables).
Let’s see why the textile was so decisive…
Merino wool in Spain, a little bit of history
Merino wool was first mentioned in Spain in the 12th century with the first sheep. Spain held almost exclusive control of its development and breeding until the 18th century, when trade began to open up to other countries. This wool was highly sought after for its durability and thermal insulation characteristics, which had been perfected by Spanish breeders over the centuries. So seriously was the issue taken that, until this time, the punishment for exporting the animals was the death penalty.
Sheep’s wool is a highly effective natural insulation that has been used for centuries as a thermal insulator, in fact Mongolian nomads already used sheep’s wool felt and padded fabrics as an insulating layer in the walls of their yurts.
It is a natural and renewable material as it comes from the regular shearing of the animal, which is necessary during its life cycle.
Sheep are one of the first animals to be domesticated by humans. The history of domestic sheep dates back to between 11000 and 9000 BC with the domestication of wild mouflon in ancient Mesopotamia.
Merino wool was the economic engine of our country, being the first world producer… and the woollen blanket was the main protagonist in the wealthiest homes and kingdoms all over the world as a way to warm up during the cold winter nights.
If there was a famous blanket in Spain for centuries, it was the Zamora blanket. Zamora was a passing place on the wool route from Extremadura. Other regions of Spain such as Palencia (which sent blankets to the American colonists during the War of Independence) or Béjar have been pioneers in its manufacture.
As a curiosity, at home we still have a baby’s woollen blanket that is more than 60 years old. The old woollen blankets were heavy and difficult to handle, nothing to do with the carded wool of our quilts which are extremely light, and will last as long as one of these blankets.
Woollen clothing
How can wool help us to be less cold at home?
Wool is a thermo-regulating fibre; this property is given by the structure of the fibre, wavy and curly, so that these curls allow the creation of a layer or air chamber between fibres. This air circulates inside, serving as a thermal regulator.
These characteristics mean that it serves both to prevent heat loss in situations of external cold and to maintain mild temperatures when it is hot outside and the ability to absorb moisture from the environment. In humid conditions, the moisture itself is absorbed by the wool, and then given up in dry places.
Finally; the breathability of wool, the Norwegians know this well and use underwear and T-shirts made of merino wool, as it is this moisture that is cooling us down. A good example is Blaugab underwear, made of merino wool and silk for good thermal regulation, especially in winter.
Wool socks, slippers, pyjamas and jackets to be at home will give us the comfort and the necessary warmth to not spend so much cold in our home.
Wool takes care of you
Let’s take a look at 3 useful tips for using wool at home and reducing electricity consumption:
In the case of wool carpets, it is advisable that they are dark and thick, that way, during the day they will collect the sun’s rays and release their heat little by little. In addition, if we have a good thick wool carpet that covers a large area of the room, we will be insulating the cold floor and avoiding heat loss through the tiles.
During the day it is important to wear long sleeves and long trousers, preferably in wool, flannel, cotton or cloth. These fabrics help to retain body heat and prevent it from escaping – goodbye short sleeves, hello long sleeves!
The same goes for bedtime, as wool duvets create a healthy sleeping environment, purifying the air around us, maintaining a constant humidity and temperature and are a considerable improvement on traditional wool blankets that were too heavy and uncomfortable.
So remember, reducing energy consumption is not only a matter of saving on your electricity bill, but also contributes significantly to reducing your carbon footprint, and there are other methods that can help keep your home comfortable at night and in the middle of the day.
Fonts: modaenlana, wikipedia, ecoesmas, la nueva cronica.
SAVE ON HEATING COSTS BY USING WOOL
We are now in the middle of the autumn season, so it seems very interesting to share with you some tips on how to save on heating using wool, as the temperatures drop and with the time change the daylight hours are also reduced. Some households have already started to use the heating.
In this post we also want to take a look back to when heating existed in the home (as we know it today), debunk false myths about the use of heating, and above all give you 3 very practical tips to use less heating in your home.
The electricity bill
The average natural gas cost of a home (2021) in Spain is almost 5,100kWh/year according to the SPAHOUSEC II study by the IDAE (Institute for Energy Saving and Energy Diversification), although the value changes depending on whether you have electric heating or not. This is because natural gas heating accounts for 70% of the energy bill in the winter months.
How much could we save by turning off the heating at night? Turning off the heating system while you sleep reduces energy consumption by up to 10%, as you can use duvets and blankets to keep warm. Of all the energy costs incurred in the average home in our country, heating accounts for 47% of the total throughout the year.
Leaving the heating on all day
Is it better to leave the heating on all day, even at a reasonable temperature? The answer is no, as this habit will increase the price you pay on your gas or electricity bill. Keeping the heating on all day means unnecessary energy consumption that is not comparable to the little extra effort the system has to make to start up after it has been switched off. On the other hand, continued use of heating will increase our carbon footprint, as we will generate many more CO2 emissions.
By leaving the radiators running while we sleep we are consuming energy that is not necessary, as when we go to sleep in winter we wrap up warm and use thicker duvets.
According to a study by the IDAE, the comfort temperature in a closed environment such as a house with “passive” activity is between 21°C and 23°C during the day and between 15°C and 17°C at night. For each additional degree the energy consumption increases by about 7%.
The ideal is to keep it off during sleeping hours or when we are not at home, and to restart the system one hour before waking up or coming home.
But how long has heating been around at home? Read on because we are sure you will be surprised…
The origin of heating
Indoor heating has not been around forever, our grandparents lived for many years without the comfort of heating their homes as we know it today, but how did they heat themselves?
Fire has always been the main method of heating, but over the centuries it has evolved from direct heat with fire to indirect heat that was safer for people.
Korean Ondols: The Koreans developed, more than 3000 years ago, a radiant floor heating system, called Ondol. A fire burned under a masonry floor that absorbed the heat and transferred it to the room.
Korean Ondols
Later; in 300 B.C. in ancient Greece, the heating system called hypocaust was used in the thermal baths of Olympia and Syracuse. The oldest of the installations consisted of a coal-fired boiler, a network of pipes and radiators that ran along the floor and sometimes the walls of the rooms, leaving the heat behind before it escaped through the flue to the outside. This system survived until very recently in Muslim and later Christian Hispania.
An important improvement was the invention of the cooker: the hearth (fire) remained closed, protecting people from burns. In 1619, the first comprehensive work on cookers was published by Franz Kessler. This work describes the principles of heating used in Germany at the time, which were not further developed until the 19th century.
In 1919, Alice H. Parker, an African-American woman, patented a central heating system at the age of 24 that used convention currents to transport heat through ducts that ran through the building and laid the foundation for what we know today as boiler central heating.
By the mid-20th century, there were several options for heating homes, from boilers to furnaces fuelled by oil, propane, natural gas and electricity. In short, central heating as we know it today has been around for about 70 years, and probably only in the wealthiest and most modern homes.
And how did people who had no heating live?
Fireplaces, braziers and textiles in the home were the protagonists against the cold winter, especially in some inland regions of Spain (as well as sharing small beds between many brothers, uncles, grandparents and even sleeping near the animals’ stables).
Let’s see why the textile was so decisive…
Merino wool in Spain, a little bit of history
Merino wool was first mentioned in Spain in the 12th century with the first sheep. Spain held almost exclusive control of its development and breeding until the 18th century, when trade began to open up to other countries. This wool was highly sought after for its durability and thermal insulation characteristics, which had been perfected by Spanish breeders over the centuries. So seriously was the issue taken that, until this time, the punishment for exporting the animals was the death penalty.
Sheep’s wool is a highly effective natural insulation that has been used for centuries as a thermal insulator, in fact Mongolian nomads already used sheep’s wool felt and padded fabrics as an insulating layer in the walls of their yurts.
It is a natural and renewable material as it comes from the regular shearing of the animal, which is necessary during its life cycle.
Sheep are one of the first animals to be domesticated by humans. The history of domestic sheep dates back to between 11000 and 9000 BC with the domestication of wild mouflon in ancient Mesopotamia.
Merino wool was the economic engine of our country, being the first world producer… and the woollen blanket was the main protagonist in the wealthiest homes and kingdoms all over the world as a way to warm up during the cold winter nights.
If there was a famous blanket in Spain for centuries, it was the Zamora blanket. Zamora was a passing place on the wool route from Extremadura. Other regions of Spain such as Palencia (which sent blankets to the American colonists during the War of Independence) or Béjar have been pioneers in its manufacture.
As a curiosity, at home we still have a baby’s woollen blanket that is more than 60 years old. The old woollen blankets were heavy and difficult to handle, nothing to do with the carded wool of our quilts which are extremely light, and will last as long as one of these blankets.
Woollen clothing
How can wool help us to be less cold at home?
Wool is a thermo-regulating fibre; this property is given by the structure of the fibre, wavy and curly, so that these curls allow the creation of a layer or air chamber between fibres. This air circulates inside, serving as a thermal regulator.
These characteristics mean that it serves both to prevent heat loss in situations of external cold and to maintain mild temperatures when it is hot outside and the ability to absorb moisture from the environment. In humid conditions, the moisture itself is absorbed by the wool, and then given up in dry places.
Finally; the breathability of wool, the Norwegians know this well and use underwear and T-shirts made of merino wool, as it is this moisture that is cooling us down. A good example is Blaugab underwear, made of merino wool and silk for good thermal regulation, especially in winter.
Wool socks, slippers, pyjamas and jackets to be at home will give us the comfort and the necessary warmth to not spend so much cold in our home.
Wool takes care of you
Let’s take a look at 3 useful tips for using wool at home and reducing electricity consumption:
So remember, reducing energy consumption is not only a matter of saving on your electricity bill, but also contributes significantly to reducing your carbon footprint, and there are other methods that can help keep your home comfortable at night and in the middle of the day.
Fonts: modaenlana, wikipedia, ecoesmas, la nueva cronica.