“One fifth in Cyprus can’t afford to heat their homes adequately“
Cyprus Mail news article “ One fifth in Cyprus can’t afford to heat their homes adequately “ provides some data that upsets us.
In the article, it's said that:
In 2019, over one-fifth of people in Cyprus said they could not afford to heat their homes adequately in winter, third-worst across the bloc, according to Eurostat.
This was in comparison with only 6.9 percent of people across the EU on average.
The highest rates of those who can’t afford to heat their homes were recorded in Bulgaria (30.1 percent), Lithuania (26.7 percent), Cyprus (21 percent), Portugal (18.9 percent), Greece (17.9 percent), and Italy (11.1 percent).
The lowest rates were recorded in Finland, Austria, Sweden, Slovenia, Luxembourg, Estonia, and Germany at around 2 percent.
The article by Cyprus Mail: https://cyprus-mail.com/2021/01/06/one-fifth-in-cyprus-cant-afford-to-heat-their-homes-adequately/
As a construction company, we can give some advice in this case -
Choose a wooden house instead of a concrete house. Wooden houses are more energy efficient. A way you can observe it in real life - wooden floor never gets much hot in summer while concrete floor burns. This is an example of thermal conductivity for the two building materials.
Wood and wood interior is a natural humidity regulator in the room. One of the most important indicators for the sensation of temperature in the room is humidity. In the cold weather and high humidity, it will seem colder even if your thermometer shows that it's 20 or more degrees in the room but in summer you will feel like it's hotter than your thermometer is showing when living in a concrete house. Wood absorbs humidity in colder, more humid weather making the room climate warm and cozy, but in summer as wood is drying, it releases moisture, making the room cooler and more comfortable for living in hot weather which is something that concrete doesn't possess.
Smart Wood has been working in Cyprus since 2009 and we have noticed, that many clients don't choose to insulate the roof or decide to build it from concrete. Roof insulation is very important because 70% of heat loss happens through the roof.
Another thing we have noticed is that in low energy efficiency doors and windows are being used in building. Because of that doors and windows are weak sealed and air easily flows through them and, accordingly, heat in the room is lost. Also often the materials for the production of windows and doors are chosen incorrectly and they can't provide energy efficiency.
Also, we have noticed that almost no one chooses insulation of foundation, which is vital for the house's energy efficiency.
In our opinion considering the climate in Cyprus and available sun energy other heating resources like firewood, heating gas, etc. aren't really necessary. It seems absurd that a country with so much solar energy has problems with access to proper heating for all.
Why is this happening in Cyprus? And here we might add that in this climate, mistakes will not only be fatal, as would be the case in northern Europe, where we come from, and have learned to build houses. Accordingly, we maintain the same quality standards and this is our significant advantage.
Make wise choices and think about how can you save money and live comfortably in the long run while being environmentally friendly!