Design & DIY 7 cottage heating mistakes that you’re making By Cottage Life Published: December 21, 2023 Updated: March 26, 2024 share Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Pinterest Copy Link Cancel View in Fullscreen 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 By anupong lerdwattanarak/Shutterstock Mistake No. 1 You close the air vents in unused rooms, thinking that this will save you money on heating. It won’t work; closing vents skews the balance of an HVAC system, which was designed with the proper amount of ductwork for the size of your cottage. Closing vents puts more pressure on the system’s ducts, because the air has fewer pathways to travel. It makes your heating system work less efficiently, not more efficiently. View in Fullscreen 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 By Giulio Benzin/Shutterstock Mistake No. 2 You don’t use your ceiling fans. Plenty of modern ceiling fans allow you to adjust the direction in which they rotate. Changing your fan’s direction to clockwise creates an updraft to circulate warm air (as opposed to counter-clockwise, which creates a downdraft). View in Fullscreen 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 By F01 PHOTO/Shutterstock Mistake No. 3 It’s so cold! So you crank the thermostat all the way up, hoping it will heat the cottage faster. It won’t. A high temperature won’t make your furnace work faster, it’ll just run for longer. It’s not energy efficient and it can be taxing on the system. View in Fullscreen 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 By gianni31 joker/Shutterstock Mistake No. 4 You’ve made your cottage completely airtight. Wait, how could that be a mistake? No chilly drafts! But without some ventilation, you can get problems with excessive indoor humidity (which leads to dampness, which leads to mould). View in Fullscreen 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 By Nadezhda Kharitonova/Shutterstock Mistake No. 5 You turn the heat off when you’re away between cottage visits. Okay, this isn’t always a mistake. It depends on the situation. But if you do multiple, regular cottage visits in the winter, leaving the heat on low (our experts recommend at least 5°C and up to 13°C) means the materials in your cottage—bedding, for example—will be at a comfortable temperature when you arrive. View in Fullscreen 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 By Rianna M. Hill/Shutterstock Mistake No. 6 You don’t dust your baseboard heaters. Dust, dirt, pet hair, and cobwebs can all build up on the radiator fins or heating elements and interfere with heat output. To expose the heater’s fins and coils, remove the cover (after shutting off power at the main breaker). View in Fullscreen 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 By Dmitry Galaganov/Shutterstock Mistake No. 7 You ask your portable heater to perform a miracle. There’s nothing wrong with adding a supplemental heater to the cottage. But, if you stick it in a poorly insulated room with a lot of windows facing the lake…it’s not going to provide enough heat to make a difference, and running it all the time may be a waste of energy. Dressing in layers is cheaper. View in Fullscreen Related galleries 7 yardwork mistakes that you don’t know you’re making This tucked-away treehouse is a modern take on a childhood dream 3 essential spring window tune-ups 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 7 cottage heating mistakes that you’re making It’s getting cold out there! And you need to save every penny you can these days (we mostly all do). So, if you want to cut your heating costs, don’t make these common, money-sucking mistakes when it comes to your cottage. Build it, fix it, get it done!Get Dockside DIY, for tips on how to maintain your cottage…and then someSign up here Related Story 4 tricks to restore scratched furniture Related Story Will a heat pump solve your cold cottage woes? Related Story 7 tips to keep your plumbing from freezing Sign up for our newsletters By submitting your information via this form, you agree to receive electronic communications from Cottage Life Media, a division of Blue Ant Media Solutions Inc., containing news, updates and promotions regarding cottage living and Cottage Life's products. You may withdraw your consent at any time. Dockside Weekly The latest cottage-country news, trending stories, and how-to advice Dockside DIY Bi-weekly Fix-it info, project ideas, and maintenance tips from our DIY experts The Great Outdoors Monthly Nature and environment news and inspiration for people who love to get outside The Key Weekly Need-to-know info about buying, selling, and renting cottage real estate Family Matters Five-part series Untangle the thorny process of cottage succession with expert advice from lawyer, Peter Lillico
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