Kill the Chill

Winter Warmth Facts

The Kill the Chill campaign aims to raise awareness of the importance of staying warm in the winter. It is getting harder and harder for people to keep their homes warm during the winter, mainly due to ever increasing fuel prices. Also with particularly severe winters in recent years it is even more important than ever to try to keep warm in our homes. 

There is always a lot of discussion about how we need to consume less and try to cut back on our gas and electricity use but more importantly we need to make sure that we are warm enough in our homes in the winter as this can have a direct impact on our health. That is not to say that we shouldn’t be careful and make sure we don’t waste energy such as turning lights and appliances off when we aren’t using them as this can save us money which can go towards thing like our heating bills.

Your Health

The first thing to remember is that we need to keep warm in our homes. This is particularly important for vulnerable groups who may need to keep their home warmer or may spend large amounts of time in their home. The main reason for this is health. The temperature you live in has a direct impact on your health and if you are exposed to temperatures that are too low, it can have severe impacts on your health. The table below shows some of the effects of being exposed to cold temperatures.

We can see from this table that there are some severe health impacts of being exposed to cold temperatures, even if it is only by a few degrees. In fact if the temperature drops by 1°C your blood pressure will rise by 1.3mmHG which is a significant amount.

There are a whole range of different health impacts of cold temperatures that we might not even think of; exposure to cold temperatures reduces mobility which increases the risk of falls and injuries in the home, living in a damp cold home also increases mental health problems. Winter excess mortality is another big problem which is the number of people that die in the winter as a result of the cold. In the UK every year this is between 30,000 and 50,000 people and for every 1°C drop in temperature over the winter there are a further 8,000 deaths.

Your Home

Another effect of your home being too cold is damp and mould growth. Damp is caused by excess water and condensation in the air. If there is a lot of moisture in the air it will condense on the coldest surface producing condensation and water. This will cause damp which then encourages mould growth. These conditions are likely to occur if there is a lot of moisture in the air and if there is inadequate heat. It is important to make sure that the whole home has at least some heat, particularly in areas where there is excess water such as the Kitchen and the Bathroom.

Damp and mould growth causes damage to walls and ceilings and can cause rot. They can also have adverse health impacts such as asthma and respiratory infections. The best ways to stop damp and mould growth are to either increase ventilation if there is a large amount of water in the room or in most cases the most effective way to prevent this is to increase the amount of heat in the room.

Drafts are another source of heat loss in the home. Drafts are most common where there is air coming in from the outside. Sometimes this will be from gaps around unused vents, windows or doors. Simple draft excluders underneath doors and on letterboxes are very easy to install and effective at preventing these drafts.