A British Gas engineer has shared simple tips that could help you save as much as £145 on your energy bills.
With many parts of Scotland experiencing a cold snap in which temperatures are dropping into the minuses, many will be turning to the heating to stay warm. However, some households might want to use their heating more sparingly due to rising energy bills and the cost of living crisis.
Thankfully, experts are sharing tips and tricks to get the most out of your utilities, so that you don't have to compromise on a cold house. One such expert is Sunny Solanky, an engineer for British Gas, who believes that "little things that we can all do that can make a big difference"
Speaking to The Express, Sunny explained: "Most of the questions that I get asked is, what's the best way to run the heating? Or what's the best way to save a little bit? It's quite simple.
"If you've got your heating on, put draught excluders under doors, when the heat is on. Also, drawing blinds and curtains, because you lose a lot of heat through your windows and things which a lot of people just don't think about.
"Keeping furniture away from radiators. If you've got the sofa right against the radiator, it's blocking off the heat, it's not able to then heat the room.
"You can get a big piece of cardboard, wrap it in some foil and put it behind your radiator. That helps stop the heat getting lost through into the walls rather than into the room, which is what you want."
One of the biggest issues households face in the winter months is frozen pipes which can then prevent heating and hot water from getting around the house. Because of this, the British Gas engineer stresses the importance of pipe insulation - as well as other tips which adds up to £145 saved on bills.
Sunny said: "By insulating some of your pipes, you can stop them being frozen, which could save you about £20 a year. Putting the foil and cardboard behind radiators, possibly around £25
"There's a lot of different things so draught proofing, that could save £100 a year. It's not a lot of work and it's not expensive things that we're talking about here either."
He added: "We've always given people the best advice on efficiency in their house, whether it be thermostatic radiator valve, hide thermostats, Smart Controls, newer boilers, power flushing, getting the boiler serviced.
"We're always giving people and we have done in every house that we go to, we're always giving them the best advice possible and the most relevant advice to each house.
"Little wins right now are draft excluders, getting that foil behind the radiator, making sure the boiler stays working, with the cold snap picks.
"Keeping radiators clear and free and not obstructing them. Otherwise, you just end up blocking the heat. And again, close the drawing curtains just to keep the heat in the house. It's little things that we can all do that can make a big difference."
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