As we head through winter, with Christmas days away, it can be a pretty expensive time of year.
And with the recent freezing conditions and rising cost of energy bills, things are pricier than ever. But there are a few tricks to help keep your home a little warmer and save you some money this Christmas time and throughout the rest of the winter.
Property experts from leading window specialists, Safestyle, have shared six hacks to help you keep your home warm.
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So what should you do to keep your home warm this winter? Here's what the experts have to say.
1. Draught-proof your doors and windows
Often the source of lost heat in your home is down to not having draught-proofed your doors or windows.
Adam Pawson, Marketing Director at Safestyle explains that in order to check if this is an issue, you should run your hand around the edge of the door frame and if you can feel cold air coming through, you should "adjust the latch or hinges to get a better fit of the door in the frame. Alternatively, try draught proofing strips to fill the gap. These will help to draught-proof your uPVC door.”
The property expert adds: “To check if your windows have a draught coming through, there are some common telltale signs to look out for. These include cracked window panes, a cracked or damaged seal or condensation on the windows or between the panes of glass. If you do spot any of these signs, don’t worry because there are a couple of quick fix solutions you can try.
“One budget friendly hack you can try is to use clear nail polish to paint over the cracked seal. You might need to paint on two to three coats to ensure the crack is fully covered.
“Another way to insulate your home, which also looks great too, is to layer up on window dressings by using a combination of sheer curtains, blinds and drapes.”
2. Make sure radiators aren’t blocked
When looking at your furniture placement, check to see if you are blocking the radiator. Adam says that where possible, "try not to block radiators with furniture to prevent them from absorbing heat.
“If you are limited on space and do have furniture placed next to radiators, pull the sofa or table slightly ajar from the radiator to enable a better circulation of heat around the room.”
3. Leave the oven door open after cooking
When it comes to cooking, a great idea is to leave the oven door open to allow the heat to escape into the room. This will help keep it warm and is a simple way to keep your home heated after using the oven using the same amount of energy.
To help keep this heat in, the expert adds that in order to "maximise this hack, make sure to keep windows and doors closed to retain the heat.”
4. Pay attention to the weather
A short-term fix to keeping the heat in your home can be as simple as paying attention to the weather. He suggests: “Older windows tend to let a lot of the precious heat from your home escape, meaning that you're using more energy than you probably need to when heating each room. A quick, short-term solution you can take to prevent this is to ensure that you keep windows closed on colder days to help keep the heat in.”
5. Energy efficient purchases
If you’re looking a long-term solution, energy efficient windows will not only make your home feel warmer but help to save you money on your energy. And with bills on the rise, every penny that you can save helps.
Adam says: “The amount of savings varies depending on property size but a typical, gas-heated semi-detached home could save between £120-£155 per year by choosing energy-efficient windows."
6. Close blinds and curtains to keep the heat in
A simple trick to help insulate the home keeping your blinds and curtains closed. You should keep them open during the day when the sun is out however once it gets dark, it’s important to close the curtains to retain the heat.
The expert says: "Given the current energy crisis, it’s never been more important to keep on top of window maintenance. A window's overall thermal efficiency, solar gain (heat coming in from outside) and air leakage, contributes to its official rating, with anything above C considered good.
“A quality installation will eliminate draughts as the windows work to keep warm air in and cold air out. Our windows here at Safestyle are all A-rated for efficiency and recommended by the Energy Savings Trust, as they are specifically designed to harvest as much free energy into your home as possible.”
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