Maltese houses lack insulation as they are solely made out of concrete. Just to give you a brief idea, the houses absorb a lot of heat during summer. Being inside a house in summer is overall hotter than being outside. Due to the concrete’s heat capacity, the house remains hot during summer nights and makes it impossible to sleep comfortably without a fan or air-conditioning. Exactly the opposite happens in winter. The heat in the house is absorbed by the concrete wall and roof and is emitted outside, because we all know that hot air likes to travel to cold areas. As such, during the night the temperature inside our houses are almost the same as the temperature outside.
Now the bummer is, that in Malta we do not have a proper heating system in our houses. We buy gas by the cylinder which makes it impossible and unaffordable to have a good amount of heaters around the house, unless we use electrical heating. Let’s face it, no one really has this, unless you are extravagantly rich.
Because of this, every morning I struggle to come out of my cosy, warm bed to the cold reality that is my bedroom and the rest of the house. Especially when you can hear the wind and the rain outside, fighting against one another on who is making the most sound… And then there’s the dreadful traffic… Oh, how I wish I could hibernate during winter and wake up in a more convenient summer spot that is not on the Maltese Islands 🙂
Steffi Says... 
Move to Switzerland! 😉
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Not that easy after I bought a house here unfortunately. I’m kinda stuck here for the time being!
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did you buy a flat or a single house? even recent construction are built with no insulation at all?
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I have a house which is 300 year old. The way they used to build in the past is different than now. I would say that my house is to an extend insulated as the house has thicker walls than what they build now.
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Where is your house? Near the cost, 1st floor,2nd?
Didi you speak to other people? ist it a common problem or not… ?!!
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House is on the west side of Malta, located in Siggiewi. Not near the coast really, but it is a rather rural village here. Being a house, I have a ground floor, and a second floor.. roof etc.
This year the winter was very mild, so had no problems whatsoever 🙂
We still don’t have heating like in the UK – you’d need to warm or cool down the house with air-conditioning / fans / gas heater. Don’t think UK style heating will ever be implemented here. Guess it is not worth it since we have short winters, and much longer summers. If air-conditioning doesn’t bother you (it enhances my allergies, unfortunately), I suggest that this a way forward if you are considering living in Malta!
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