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The most recent figures show that 3.16m UK households are in fuel poverty – which basically means that more than 13% of all British Homes cannot afford to keep warm. But while the scale of the problem is significant, the solutions don’t always need to be complex or costly. With winter well and truly underway, we look at 10 simple tips that can help you keep your home warm for little or no extra cost.
Heat from the sun is free, so make sure your curtains are open during the day to let the sun in to warm the room up. As soon as it gets dark, shut them and make sure there’s another layer of insulation, making it harder for the warmth to escape through cold windows. You should also make sure all windows are sealed, and there are no gaps or leaks so warm air can stay in and the cold air stays out – this also helps to reduce condensation.
The Centre for Sustainable Energy’s advice is to programme your boiler to turn on a little earlier – maybe 30 minutes before you get up in the morning – but at a lower temperature than normal. It’s cheaper than turning your heating on full when you wake up. This is because a boiler heats up at a constant speed whether you set the temperature to 20 degrees or 30 degrees. But don’t make the mistake of leaving the heating on all day at a lower temperature; then, you’re just wasting money paying for heating that you don’t need.
It might be a quick solution to drying wet clothes, but putting them on hot radiators prevents the hot air from the radiator from circulating around the room and warming it up. The same goes for your curtains and the sofa. Move them away from the radiator so you can get the most out of the radiator and allow it to do what it’s meant to do.
Around 25% of heat is lost through the roof. This can be quickly and easily improved by installing 250mm of insulation throughout the roof space. It’s also worth checking if you have any wall insulation and, if not, trying to see if you can have it retrofitted. Around a third of heat is lost through walls. It’s not as easy and cheap to fit as loft insulation, but having properly fitted wall insulation could save you up to £200 per year in heating bills. It might be worth contacting your energy supplier, who might be offering insulation for cheap or sometimes even free, depending on what scheme is running at that time.
If you’ve got a hot water tank, then make sure it has the proper insulation. If you have a particularly old tank, then you could buy a foam jacket and fit it yourself if it hasn’t already got one. Insulating a hot water tank with a new jacket could save up to £100 off your annual heating bills.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) previously recommended setting your thermostat at home to 21 degrees. They have since revised this to 18 degrees in 2014. And research shows that turning your thermostat down by just 1 degree could save you 10% per year. So, keep that dial at 18 degrees and save money while keeping the house warm.
The Energy Saving Trust estimates that draught-proofing your home can save you around £25 per year. You can make your own draught excluders or buy them very cheap, making them an easy and quick fix for very little money.
Your heating usage will be more efficient if you use time and temperature control to make sure it comes on at certain times and then goes off at predefined temperatures. One way to do this is to use thermostatic radiator valves, which can be temperature-controlled. An advantage of using these is that each radiator can be controlled individually, meaning that radiators in unoccupied rooms can be turned off when not in use – saving you money in the long run. New smart thermostats can be controlled remotely using an app, so you have the convenience of being able to come home to a nice warm home if you’re out.
If you’ve got an old boiler, then it might be time to think about an upgrade to a new, more efficient model. Depending on how old your current boiler is, you could save £350 per year with a new A-rated condensing boiler. Condensing boilers use less energy to produce the same amount of heat. You also benefit from fewer breakdowns with a new boiler, especially with winter well underway. Boiler installation costs vary, so check prices online. Combi boiler prices for a 3-bedroom house start at around £1,212.
Radiator panels work by reflecting the heat from the radiator into the room instead of into the cold wall. The panels are quite cheap and easy to install.
This is a collaborative post.
Welcome to Birds and Lilies! I'm Lou: mother, blogger and freelance writer. This is my lifestyle blog, where I talk about motherhood, infertility and IVF, beauty, my love for food and wine, as well as my thoughts about stuff, and our real-life and travel adventures.
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