13 Ene The art of staying warm and cosy
Today is my birthday and as an extra golden touch to it we got a new heater installed in our house. Some people get flowers. I get a heater.
Don´t get me wrong, I´m by no means complaining. After a couple of weeks with the butane heaters and cold water in the shower, I´m embracing the luxury 😉
Many expats from northern countries like Sweden have been surprised by the lack of proper thermic insulation and central heating (one source heating all the rooms or apartments) in Spanish buildings. I´m one of them. I have passed my coldest winters in Spain. Indoor that is! Many people heat their homes by using either electrical- or butane heaters and of course dress very warm indoors as well. In both the cities and the villages «the Butano Guy» goes around loudly banging on a butane container, so the neighbors can get their instant delivery comfortably to the door. Heating the house using electrical heaters quickly turns into a «cold shower experience» when the bill arrives, since the electricity is quite expensive in Spain.
More recently built homes have systems for central heating installed. Many of them are still run on fuel oil so if you buy a house like this make sure to change to the latest model of burner to minimize the oil consumption or look for another and more sustainable source (some kind of heat exchanger for example).
It can be interesting to look into the option to install a heat exchanger and also consider changing the windows if they are the one glass kind and have low thermic insulation capacity. Check the insertion of the window in the wall also. I have seen windows where you actually can see the daylight between the frame and the wall! Getting rid of the draft through the house that these openings are causing is a huge leverage in comfort and of course, it saves money in terms of increased heating effectivity.
The Butano Fanclub. Turn it on!!!
