Despite well-adjusted heating, the heat sometimes disappears without us understanding why. An area of the home, often forgotten, can be the cause.
When winter approaches, we switch back to heating mode and adjust the thermostat to reach the right temperature without consuming too much. Normally everything should work. However, in many homes, the heat does not remain. It feels like hot air is escaping somewhere. So, we increase the temperature a little, then a little more, without really understanding why thermal comfort does not follow.
The first energy bills confirm the problem, as they swell even though the house doesn’t really seem any warmer. We end up inspecting every corner to find the fault but in reality, the cause is sometimes much more banal than an insulation problem or a radiator fault. It is located in a place that we barely notice, as we pass through it without thinking about it, but which nevertheless plays a central role in the thermal balance of the home.
This place is the entrance or the corridor. These are passage areas, often without radiators, directly exposed to variations in outside temperature. Every time the front door is opened, a stream of cold air rushes in and instantly cools the space. This pocket of cool air does not stay where it is: it attracts heat from neighboring rooms and creates an imbalance. The heating must then compensate continuously to maintain a correct temperature. In many homes, this simple phenomenon is enough to increase consumption.
The good news is that you can easily take action. The idea is to prevent these areas from becoming cold traps. Installing an insulating door bottom already helps limit outside air infiltration. A thick curtain in front of the front door also acts as a thermal barrier and slows down the drop in temperature when coming and going. The floor can also be improved: a dense carpet, made of wool or cotton, helps to cut off the feeling of cold rising from the floor. And above all, we can promote the diffusion of heat: leaving the doors of heated rooms open when possible allows a little heat to be sent into the corridor and reduces the thermal difference with this unheated area. In particularly cold entrances, a small gentle heating device can also stabilize the temperature without overconsuming.
So take the time to measure the temperature in your entrance or hallway during the first days of winter. If the distance from the living rooms is significant, this is probably where your heat loss is occurring.
