The
warmth generated and maintained in a living room is likely
to be a result of several factors working together, and in
the winter and autumn months in the UK, attention is often
sharply focused on these factors.
The most obvious area to concentrate
on is the source of heat in the room. This could be an open
fire, solid fuel burning stove, electric fire, gas fire,
the central heating, under floor heating, or a combination
of sources. Once the heat has been generated, insulation
is likely to keep the heat in the room for longer. The insulating
properties of the living room can be achieved and enhanced
by a number of things. These could include carpets, draft
excluders on doors and windows, multi layered glazing, and
the presence of other substantial soft furnishings. Traditional
areas for losing heat from rooms are through the door and
window areas.
Thick curtains e.g. lined curtains
made of thick insulating material can be one way of retaining
heat, but they are not the most practical modern window
covering available for number of reasons e.g. they are difficult
and time consuming to clean, and can let less natural light
into the room than other window covering alternatives.
Vertical
blinds for example are extremely practical, flexible
and relatively economical choices for window coverings.
Most of us may imagine that vertical blind slats don’t
have great insulating properties. The fact is however, vertical
blind slats can be made from a wide variety of different
materials. PVC backed vertical blinds for example can be
very effective at keeping plenty of heat in the living room.
When they are in the fully closed position, side to side
they make a formidable barrier to heat escaping. The PVC
backing also makes the vertical
blind slats strong and durable. PVC backed vertical
blinds still however remain a very economical solution
to heat loss problems around the window area.