5 FREE top tips to keep your home warm this winter

Energy prices have been rising and now that we are officially into Winter, our Plumbing & Heating Division wanted to share some top tips to help keep your home warm this winter. And the best thing….none of these tips cost you a thing (well number 4 might depending on how far you go with it).

Tip 1 – Curtains

Get your curtains open in the morning to allow the suns heat to warm your home during the day. And as soon as the sun starts to go down in the evening, get them closed again.  This helps to trap as much of the heat in your home as possible. And while it might seem obvious, don’t leave any gaps in the curtains.  That will just let the warm air out. Winters are an easy spot for you to loose warm heat energy and curtains act as a great barrier against the cold glass.

Tip 2 – Move the sofa

So we say sofa, but really this could be any item of furniture in a room that is too close to the radiators.  If your sofa is right next to the radiator (for example) then it is absorbing a lot of the heat being given out by the central heating system.  By moving it away from the radiator, even a little bit, you are helping to pass more of the heat into the rest of the room.

Tip 3 – Turn down the heating a bit

It is advised that a room should be around 18°C yet for many homes in the UK, they are closer to 21°C. If you want to cut down on your heating bills then turn down the thermostat a degree or two.

Tip 4 – Stop the draughts

If your home has lots of draughts then you have lots or places for cold air to enter.  Block them off.  From draught proofing windows to draught excluders that sit by your door, you can even get little draught blockers for the front door key hole.  And of course, if you have a fireplace that is not in use, you can plug the chimney to stop all that warm air escaping (though remember to remove it in the warmer months so that your home can breath).

Tip 5 – Bleed your radiators

An efficient radiator is a warm radiator.  By making sure there is no air in the central heating system, a radiator can work more efficiently, hence cut down on your energy bills. Proper maintenance of your homes central heating system can ensure that you get the most ‘bang for your buck’ this winter.

Find out more

If you have tried all of these top tips and want to make even more savings on your central heating energy bills, then the next steps would be to upgrade your homes central heating system and boiler.  Modern boilers are far more efficient than older models and while the cost savings vary depending on how inefficient your current boiler is and what type of new boiler you go for, the savings can be significant. This means that quite quickly, you can pay off the initial cost of a new boiler and start making some serious savings on your monthly and yearly energy bills.