As the days grow colder and energy prices skyrocket, we look at a few ways to keep your home warm without ramping up your heating.
The cost of living is on everyone’s minds this winter, especially when it comes to keeping your home at a comfortable temperature. Avoiding turning up your central heating isn’t only good for your wallet, it’s also good for the environment. But as the evenings become ever more frigid, many of us are eyeing the thermostat and wondering how long we can go without caving in. The good news is that there are many simple ways to help retain heat in your home and avoid the switch-on.
Believe it or not, your choice of blinds can have an effect on the temperature of your home. As Oliver Hudson, Director of BlindsbyPost explains: “In winter, windows can be a large source of heat loss, with up to 30% of a home’s heating energy lost through windows. But tightly installed blinds can reduce heat loss through windows by 40% in winter, equating to around 10% savings in heating bills.
“One efficient and cost effective method of insulating a home is installing thermal blinds. These blinds are specially designed to keep the heat in during the winter months, while also providing an easy way of upgrading home decor.
“Blackout blinds also offer the potential of keeping heat in during the colder winter months, and money can be saved on energy bills as they can reduce the need to keep the heating on high. Thermal blinds offer a cost-effective solution for reducing heat loss from windows, which means reducing your energy bills. You can save up to 14% of your energy by installing blinds, which means if the average household is paying £2,500 in energy bills per year, there is a potential saving of £350 per household – nearly £1 a day.”
Ensuring that your house has proper insulation is also a great money saver when it comes to heating. While a complete update of your insulation can be costly, even a small change can make a difference, as Dan Greatrex, Category Buyer for Insulation Superstore, explains: “To help keep things manageable, remember that sometimes the smallest changes can have the biggest impact.
“A fairly quick and easy job is to top up the loft insulation with loft roll to keep energy bills down – it’s worth remembering that insulation helps us all year round, not just at winter, in keeping our homes cooler in the summer and warmer in the cold months.
“Ensure spaces are water-tight and air- tight as a priority. Areas such as boarded-up fireplaces may still be externally exposed and it’s easy to forget while you’re concentrating on other jobs. This would need to be bricked up from the outside to minimise the risk of damp coming through.”
Retaining warmth can also be done without any building work at all, as can evening fit into your décor, according to Dan: “Adding soft furnishings such as heavyweight curtains and rugs will add extra warmth and comfort when you need it, as well as the perfect opportunity to inject some personality into a room.”