The Warm Room: Surviving Winter Without Heating
Don't heat the flat — heat one room. One room at +15°C beats five rooms at +5°C. Here is how to choose it, seal it, and warm it without poisoning yourself.
Heat one room, not the whole home
Without central heating, the winning move is to stop heating the flat and concentrate on a single space. One room at +15°C beats five rooms at +5°C. Choose your warm room for the least heat loss: the smallest room, with the fewest exterior walls and windows, ideally interior or facing the sunny side.
Seal the leaks
Most heat escapes through windows and drafts. With improvised materials you can cut window losses by 30–50%:
- Windows: plastic film or bags, tape, cardboard and blankets over the glass and frame.
- Doors: rolled fabric, towels and tape around the gaps — drafts are the main way cold air gets in.
- Floor and walls: rugs, cardboard and furniture against exterior walls add insulation.
Generate and hold heat safely
Bodies are heaters — sleeping together in the warm room pools body heat. Candles and small sources help, but any combustion device demands ventilation: never run a charcoal, gas or petrol heater in a sealed room. Hot water bottles, layered clothing and a hat at night do more than people expect — most heat is lost from an uninsulated body, not just the room.
The point
The warm room turns a freezing flat into one survivable space. Decide which room it is, and pre-stage the insulation materials, before the temperature drops — not during the first cold night.