Fabric Curtains & Blinds

These will keep a building warmer than one with just slat blinds, though blinds will keep more heat in than no window covers. To maximize the heat containing abilities of curtains, you will want multiple layers. A decorative fabric, a thick lining, and regular backing will work, but blackout lining will also reduce the amount of light pollution getting in or out of the building at night. If you live in a warm region, a light or medium fabric should be fine for your curtains, but if you have serious freezes, it would be more efficient to invest in heavier, thicker fabrics including types such as velvet.

If you are strapped for cash, and don't know which room to start with (we made about 1-3 curtains per year which made the place increasingly cozy and cheaper as each set was installed), I'd suggest picking rooms that you spend the most time in, the most upsettingly cold rooms, and/or the rooms with the biggest windows.

Big windows allow the most heat to escape, but if you can close a door and shut yourself into warmer areas those rooms can probably be ignored. It could be worth working out who's room is the coldest and needs curtains more, or if considering communal space, a small curtain bathroom curtain might make morning's less unpleasant, or covering the big living room window might make the most sense if all other rooms lead off from it, and people wouldn't mind gathering there to stay warm. Each year your heating bill should go down, meaning more spending money for another strategic curtain (set).

• • Open Curtains For Sunlight this is best done when the sun will be glaring directly into the room, which also provides benefits such as disinfecting surfaces, and providing inhabitants with vitamin D which can help stave off the winter blues. When the sun begins to fade or is hitting other parts of the building, close the curtains again to help hold the day's heat inside.

  • Bubble wrap over your windows can help boost your insultation or be used instead of curtains if you can't install then for some reason (for example if you are renting). It can be put up with clear tape, and if done with bubbles against the glass, and flat side facing the inside of the room, you'll not only create a layer of sun-warmed insulation, but sunlight will still be able to get in during the day to help heat the room.

  • Double Up If you already have curtains, or can't make or buy curtains with multiple layers right away, you can start with one curtain (set) and add a second in front or behind when you do have more money/time/fabric. We started with a thin, white curtain set for privacy in our bedroom while I gathered materials to sew a triple-layered curtain with interlining and blackout lining. Not only does our thin extra set of curtains help insulate our window better than just one set of curtains, but we can open the set with blackout lining to let in sun, but keep the white, thin set of curtains shut to maintain privacy but still enjoy free light.

Landscaping & Strategic Planting

Heater Options

High Efficiency Heat Pumps

These use a small amount of energy in conjunction with a ground source, water source, or air source component to reduce energy needs in a single device that can both heat and cool a home or other building.

Solar

Solar energy can be harnessed a few ways including the passive solutions mentions above, solar panels, solar condensers which can be used to heat water and thermal oil, which in turn can be used for eating systems

Solar Panels

These work particularly well in cool weather, producing more energy in cool weather than hotter temperatures. They can even produce energy on cloudy days in countries like the UK.

Solar Water Heaters

Heating water uses the 2nd to 3rd greatest amount of a building's energy use. Some types of solar water heaters skip turning radiation into electricity, instead heating water right in the tank, while others use solar panels. Hot water in turn can help to keep inhabitants comfortably warm.

Other Tricks

Clothing

• Dress in Layers! In cold countries we generally have 

• Slips or vests over our underwear

• Regular layers like T-shirts and shirts/blouses, then come the...

• Knitted vests, cardigans, sweaters, and hoodies then 

• Outer wear including jackets and coats. 

• Thicker/taller socks, or even wearing two sets of socks inside slippers, shoes, or boots. 

• Thick tights can help, as can leggings under trousers, skirt or dresses.

• If you wear skirts or dresses, layering multiple petticoats (or old skirts) underneath will help block wind and trap your body heat inside your clothes.

• Scarves can be a fun accessory, but wrapping one around your neck will help prevent heat from escaping your neckline or cold drafts from getting in. A wide scarf or shawl will work even better if you wrap it around your up and back and chest, over your shoulders. Having the scarf or shawl over your head and ears will prevent heat from leaving your body's highest point, which is important of conserving body heat, especially if you have to go outside. 

• Hats or hoods will help protect your head from the cold, and ears too if the hat covers low enough.

Laundry

Unless you need to wash your clothes on the hot cycle for sanitary reasons, it's generally best to save energy, and protect your clothes by washing them in cold water.

• Use a drying machine on a warm or hot setting to reduce wrinkles and to give you something warm to dress in on cold mornings. Similarly the machine can warm up bedding on a cold night. This method is most eco-friendly if you genuinely needed to dry your clothes, and may help heat up the room where the machine is kept.

Cooking

• An oven isn't particularly energy efficient which is why it can help heat your kitchen. Keep the kitchen door shut to keep the heat in the room if that is where everyone is gathered.

• Stove tops are more energy efficient, but still give off some heat. You can use lids on your pots and frying pans to help cook your food faster while saving energy, or you can leave the lids off, and hold your hands over them to warm yourself while cooking.

• Toasters give off some heat, especially older, less insulated types.

• Hot drinks can be heated a number of ways, with kettles giving off some heat, and the microwave being the quickest, most energy efficient option. Drinking hot or warm drinks can help increase your internal body temperature, and the mug can help warm cold hands.

• Eating freshly cooked or reheated food can similarly help warm the body, while cold or raw foods may cool your down.

Bed Time

• Use multiple layers on beds. This usually involves a sheet and a duvet, but can include other combinations. Some people sleep naked, but wearing clothes in bed will help keep the warms in your body from dissipating into the bedding.

• Bed warmers can be refilled with hot water, and will help keep feet warm.

Exercise 

Moving our bodies creates excess heat, so simple things from jumping up and down to rubbing your hands might be enough. Make sure to wear water proof clothing or avoid rainy weather, as getting wet will generally make you cold a lot faster than mere wind chill on its own.

• Calisthenics, aerobics, and weightlifting can help warm you up. Start with a warm up before doing anything to intense with cold muscles, as this may cause injury. Make sure to do some stretches after the intense stage of your work out to help cool down and prevent future injuries.

• Bike Riding should be done in appropriate clothing, and can help warm your body faster than a car heater generally kicks in. Sometimes I have to strip off some winter layers to stay cool, but gloves, and a face mask can help keep you comfortable. I strongly recommend finding stuffing trouser legs into socks or boots, and using long arm sleeves and the wrist of your gloves together to create a seal, which will help reduce drafts.

• Jogging is a good way to warm up if you are dressed right, but not a good idea on icy days.

Ceiling Fans, Radiators, & Heaters

• If you have a ceiling fan with multiple settings, ensure that it spins the correct way. One way will cool a room, and the other direction can help warm a room.

• Line the walls behind your radiator(s) with reflective foil. This helps prevent heat from escaping into the walls (and potentially out of the building), by reflecting the heat back into the room which is supposed to be heated.

• Service and maintain your heater to ensure efficiency which will help you save resources as well as money on your heating bills.

• Heated Towel Racks are a luxurious way to help heat a small space, and or at least ensure warm towels when you are wet, stepping into a chilly bathroom.

Tools & Calculators

North America

USA

• Rewiring America: Track Your Local Pace of Progress "These projections from Rewiring America worked backwards from the emissions targets for 2050, and forward from current sales of machines for cooking, water heating, space heating, transportation, and rooftop solar to set a number of new clean electric machines that must be sold each year to reduce emissions from fossil-fueled machines. Type your city, county, or state into the search bar to get those numbers broken down for your area, by each machine category.
  
  While creating this tool, one of things we found is that some individual communities and states are leading the way: their goals are bolder than the rest of the country and so don’t match the path laid out in our data. That’s a great problem to have. So our tool should not be considered the only source of its kind -- but one that reflects only one of the possible paths to decarbonization."

Organizations

North America

USA

• The Clean Energy States Alliance "is a national, nonprofit coalition of public agencies and organizations working together to advance clean energy.
  
  CESA works with state leaders, federal agencies, industry representatives, and other stakeholders to develop clean energy programs and inclusive renewable energy markets. CESA members—mostly state agencies—include many of the most innovative, successful, and influential public funders of clean energy initiatives in the country."

Grants & Funding

Asia

• Livable Cities: Financing Partnership Facility "The urban operations of ADB benefits from the support of notable trust funds, which are collectively referred to as the Urban Financing Partnership Facility. Under this umbrella, strategic, long-term, multi-partner investments on innovative urban solutions are implemented. These investments help to achieve the vision of livable cities." These include:

  • ASEAN Australia Smart Cities Trust Fund

  • Cities Development Initiative for Asia

  • Urban Climate Change Resilience Trust Fund (UCCRTF) eligible countries include Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, and Vietnam.

  • Urban Environmental Infrastructure Fund (UEIF)

North America

USA

• Power Forward Communities "is a coalition of some of the country’s most trusted housing, climate, and community investment groups dedicated to decarbonizing and transforming American housing. We’re saving homeowners and renters money, reinvesting in communities, and tackling the climate crisis."