We all want to heat our homes to a comfortable temperature, but we also don’t want to spend a small fortune just keeping ourselves warm. For many people, heating is a large expense in the colder months. However, you can take steps to heat your home more efficiently and reduce your bills as a result. As an added bonus, you’ll also be helping the environment! So, let’s get started.
Deal with draughts
The first action to take is to sort out any draughts or block up places where heat is escaping – there’s no point in spending money heating up a room only to have all that warmth leak outside. Some of the key places to check are doors, windows, attics, and chimneys. Consider placing a draught excluder at the bottom of doors, installing keyhole covers, or hanging a curtain across your front door. If your windows are losing a lot of heat, then it might be worth upgrading to double glazing. It costs more upfront but will save you money in the long term. For smaller issues, draught-proofing strips around the frames can be a big help.
Service or upgrade your heating system
Over time, you may well find that your radiators are not heating up as efficiently as before or working as well as you expect. If that’s the case, it’s worth calling in a professional heating engineer to take a look at your boiler and heating system to see if it’s due an upgrade or needs servicing. You should also keep an eye out for fluctuations in water temperature or strange noises and smells coming from the boiler. As with new windows, replacing an old boiler might be a higher cost initially, but it will bring down your energy bills and lower your carbon footprint over the long term.
Furnish your home for maximum warmth
Sometimes all it takes to boost the warmth in your home is moving the furniture around a bit because this affects how efficiently a room both heats up and retains that heat. For instance, if possible, try and avoid putting large items such as sofas in front of radiators. That’s because this can prevent the warm air from circulating, and instead, the heat will be absorbed into the sofa. One handy tip is to install floating shelves over a wall-mounted radiator, as these will deflect the heat into the room instead of it rising up to the ceiling.
Use heating wisely
It’s also worth thinking about how you use your heating. For example, are you wasting money heating up rooms that you’re not using? If so, turn off the radiators inside and close the door. Another tip is to simply put on an extra layer or snuggle up under a blanket instead of reaching to turn up the heating straight away. You could also try turning the temperature down by just 1°C and seeing if you notice the difference. If not, leave it at that level and see the savings add up!