During the winter months, energy bills start to soar as people try to keep warm with freezing temperatures outside. Now, if you have a big house or don’t have double-glazing and other effective ways of keeping the heat in, then your bills can go through the roof if you are constantly turning the heating up. If you don’t want to spend a fortune on energy bills, then there are other ways that you can keep your house warmer over periods of cold weather.
Read more after the jump:
Buy thick curtains that are the right length
Research shows that 10% of heat escapes through windows, so having thick curtains that prevent the heat from getting out will save a lot of money. If you don’t want to fork out for new curtains then any other kind of old curtains or fabric that you have in the house can be used to provide extra layers to keep the heat in. If your curtains are longer than the curtain ledge, you can even tuck the curtains in to stop any heat escaping along the bottom. If you have doors that are letting heat out when they are closed, you can also put curtains or blankets over the door. Put your hand up to the edges of windows and doors and you should feel the cold air coming in if your seals aren’t very effective.
Draught excluders
Buying cheap draft excluders is a good way of stopping the warmth from leaving the house. You can even make your own from old pillows or cushions or any other kind of fabric you have to use. Again, use your hand to feel for cold air so you can identify where the heat is escaping and use a draught excluder in that place.
Keep doors closed
It goes without saying that you should be keeping external doors shut apart from when you are using them but internal doors should be kept shut too. If you have a room that isn’t being used then keep the door shut, as the heat will be drawn into it rather than staying in the rooms where you need it.
Don’t block your radiators off
People often position furniture like settees or bookshelves in front of radiators. This could be because there isn’t enough space for them anywhere else but you are blocking out the heat by doing this. Move the furniture around so that your radiators are all clear of any obstructions. You should also make sure that your radiators are all working well, as it could work out to be cheaper to replace one through companies like warmrooms.co.uk. Otherwise you will be turning up the heat in the other rooms to try and heat the one with a broken radiator and spending more on your heating.
Use heating timers effectively
By setting your timers to come on just before you get up and go off when you leave the house to go to work, you will be able to better manage when you need the heating on and save money.
Images from Sirdalen Cabin by Filter Arkitekter
