Collaborative post. With the spiraling costs of energy prices and companies telling people to cuddle pets and eat oatmeal to stay warm (yes really!) I thought it was about time we had some practical tips to help us stay warm and make savings on our energy bills. There are various ways we can ensure that we keep our homes warm over the colder months that are practical. Some are simple to do and others take more effort but benefit us in the long run. In this post, we look at Simple Ways To Keep Your Home Warm.
Simple Ways To Keep Your Home Warm
Heating a home is costly but then many of us have not prepared our home to be as efficient as it could be. There are so many things we can do to knock down the cost of heating our homes. Here are just a few to get you started:
Windows/ Walls / The Roof
These are the main places you’ll lose heat. The best way to prevent this is to make sure the windows are double glazed and any problems with seals are addressed. Where you can ensure the walls and the roof have been well insulated. Cracks in the walls need fixing properly too. After this, there are additional areas to make sure you address to make sure your home is as efficient as possible.
These include:
Curtains
Curtains do a much better job than blinds at keeping in heat as well as blocking out some external sound. In fact, they can reduce heat loss by around 15%. On cold grey winter days consider keeping your curtains closed. Then you don’t have to look at the depressingly awful weather after all we are in the UK plus, it’s proven to keep the home warmer. Generally, it’s advised to close curtains around the time it starts to get dark. You can either do this manually or get an electric curtain track installed and program this to do it automatically for you.
Make use of the sun when it’s here too. On beautiful sunny days, open those curtains and let the sunshine heat up the room. Don’t forget the UV in sunlight is a natural disinfectant plus natural sunlight is so much nicer to brighten up a room than synthetic light. Skin exposure to sunlight also stimulates Vitamin D production alongside helping you feel happier!
A Good Boiler
A good boiler is a must. If maintained properly, a boiler should last around 15 years. After this, you should consider boiler replacement as the technology will have improved, the efficiency of your current boiler reduced, and the safety risk increased. You may even need to replace it sooner if it takes a long time to heat up than it used to, or if it’s leaking, the energy efficiency rating is lower than A, the flame is yellow instead of blue etc. A newer boiler should help reduce your energy bills provided you don’t have the heating on all the time.
Set The Thermostat
There are so many simple ways to keep your home warm. A logical one is to set the thermostat. Calculate when you need heat and set a timer to allow for this. You don’t need to heat your home whilst you are at work or over warmer months. Just set it to warm up before you get back so it’s nice and warm for your return. This means you only heat your home when needed. This way you don’t waste energy and will save on heating costs.
Furniture Positioning
We normally have a radiator in each room. But, many of us tend to place furniture right in front of this. It might cover up the radiator as it’s not exactly the prettiest thing to look at but this isn’t the best idea. Placing a sofa, wardrobe or set of draws in front of a radiator blocks the heat from being circulated around the room and it is often just absorbed by the item. Leave a fair gap between the radiator and any objects you wish to place in front. This allows the warm air can be better dispersed around the room.
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Add Floating Shelves
A floating shelf can be a great addition to a room as it allows you to display or store items. When strategically placed above a radiator it helps block heat from rising to the ceiling. Instead, the warm air disperses into the room. These not only inexpensive but also simple to put up. Just be sure to add items on it that are not temperature sensitive.
Rugs
Rugs are great if you have wooden floors. Depending on the size, material, and thickness a rug can help reduce some heat loss through floors. They can also add to the aesthetic appeal of a room. Let’s not also forget a rug is warmer to the touch than a wooden or stone floor so can be nicer to walk on.
Drafts
Drafts don’t just come through from cracks on the walls or broken window seals. You’ll also get drafts from the bottom of your front door, letterbox or even from your fireplace. A draft excluder is perfect for blocking the air coming in from the gap between the bottom of the door and the floor. In addition, a draft excluder placed over the letterbox on the internal door is the perfect choice for minimising the air that would otherwise come through. It’s also a better option than the brushes which make it harder to post mail. A fireplace draught stop will stop the cold air coming into your home through the chimney. There are different options available to choose from.
These are just some of the simple ways to keep your home warm. There are others you could also consider.
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my post, Simple ways to Keep Your Home Warm. What tip would you consider from those here to help keep your home warm? Do you have any tips you’d like to add?
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Winter is already well underway here, but I still need to work on drafts a bit. I know we are losing a lot of heat through windows and doors. I like the idea of closing the curtains when it is so drab outside!
It’s been so cold recently. You can really notice drafts at the moment.
I do a lot of these! We have rugs everywhere and we have thick curtains that can help when it’s chilly out.
Rugs are good. I need to get a few more.
As I sit here reading your tips, I am wearing my winter coat, inside my house. My windows are so drafty that there is a breeze throughout the house. It is awful! I will be trying all these tips and hoping I can get my house warmer.
Wearing more clothes doesn’t help much if you’re already cold and there is a draft. It’s important to get that draft sorted, it’ll also save you money on heating costs. Good luck x
It has been really cold outside lately, looking forward to trying these tips.
They should help keep you warmer indoors.
I had no idea that curtains could make your home warm! I guess we will have to get some.
They can make a marked difference.
These are all great tips! I recently bought a rug for our hardwood floor and I didn’t think it would make such a big difference but it did, haha.
They do make a difference although not as much as some other things you can do.
I did not know that installing floating shelves above the radiator can help keep a room warm. I think that is a good idea. At this time, we might not be able to add that to our home renovation projects, but we will make sure we do this before the next winter season comes around.
It can make a difference and is cheap and easy to do.
I agreed with you especially in the part wherein you must put your furniture in proper places. I like that part!
It does make a difference to how much heat is dispersed into the room rather than lost.
I never thought of curtains can help in warmth. Nice tip. I will do this tip when it is very cold.
It helps to close them just before it gets dark as you’ll notice a big temperature drop otherwise.
These are all great tips for checking to keep your home warm, especially at the moment when it is so cold. keeping drafts out and thick curtains also keeps heating costs down as well x
Curtains are great. I always notice a difference when we close them.
It’s absolutely freezing here! Good point about the furniture positioning. Our sofa sits right in front of the radiator in the lounge which makes no sense whatsoever and we will be addressing that when we rejig our living room this year.
Many do it without thinking. It’s easy to move them around though even if it’s just leaving more space between the radiator and sofa.
These are all really great tips! I really agree on having rugs it makes me feel warmer inside the house!
It makes a small difference but cutting down on drafts and good insulation make a bigger impact.
I am always cold in the wintertime! We have lots of blankets and thick winter curtains, but I never actually thought about positing furniture in a better way to keep warm – thank you for sharing.
No problem Jupiter. A sofa in front of a radiator can cut the movement of loads of air. Allowing an adequate gap makes a big difference.
My house is well insulated, I just need to have more rugs around, they make the entire difference.
They do make a difference and can make a room look great too.
Keeping my home warm this winter has been a struggle. Thanks for these tips
It can be difficult when there are a few things that need fixing.
Our walkout basement can be very drafty this year, and since we only have one thermostat near the door, any tips are greatly appreciated to keep our energy bills down!
Basements can be awful at making a home cold. We had a draught excluder where the door was to stop the cold air coming in.
The furniture position is such a good tip. I often use this one in my home.
That’s great to hear. It really does work.
I found these tips really helpful especially for the winter season. Because it has been too tough to keep my home warm now.
It really is tough especially with prices always going up for heating our homes.
I always lay down extra throws around the house and make sure to put a draft protected under each door especially because of my little dog. Winter’s can be so brutal up here…thanks for these great tips!
That’s great to hear. All these things can make a difference.
We are lucky as it doesn’t get too cold in our home. We have taken many of these tips onboard to help. These are really useful tips.
That’s great to hear Paula. It helps to be prepared.
These tips are really handy. I always find my front room gets cold because of a draft from the front door, so your article was really useful to read.
I know what you mean. Draft excluders help considerably x
All of these are great tips! Some of these are easy to forget to do/check.
They can be. I forget to close the curtains and you really do feel the difference.
We were considering changing from curtains to blinds, I guess I’ll reconsider that now. I know we are losing heat through our windows for sure; we are looking to have them replaced in the Spring.
You will be please when you change them. The new ones should reduce the amount of heat loss.
I need to look at turning down our thermostat a bit as we’re spending so much on gas now even though the house isn’t that hot. I don’t mind wearing jumpers and slippers around the house x
It does make a difference. Wearing extra clothes means you don’t feel the cold as much. Don’t forget to close the curtains before it gets dark too!
These are great ideas! With heating bill set to raise again, it is so important that we find ways to keep the house warm on the cheap
It’s going to get hard for some people to afford to heat their homes. Investing in repairs is the way to go.
Those are some great tips on keeping your home warm. I will have to try some of those!
I hope they help Chelsa x
I totally agree with the curtains and the thermostat. We do that. I may have to add some area rugs because we have vinyl floors.
The rugs do make a difference and are nice to walk on with bare feet.
Great tips. We also just offset the cold by having blankets and wearing socks in the house, too!
Additional clothing helps but I have to say having a warm home is really nice.
I had no idea that curtains were so effective at helping to keep in heat. I love the idea of using floating shelves too. An idea that will look great and be useful!
It can look really good plus you gain a lovely way to feature items or store books etc.
I do nearly all of these already, as my energy prices are sky high and will try everything to save money on them. Love the idea of placing shelves above the radiator so the heat doesn’t go straight to the ceiling.
You’d be surprised at the difference some small changes can make. Draught excluders can also have a big impact.
i made some great door draught excluders and stuffed with socks and clothes nor fit for the charity shop. they work very well
Homemade ones can be really good. You can also use a material that fits with your colour scheme.
I have tried saving on electricity by lowering the power of the radiators, but these days it’s been so cold outside that I had to max them in order to heat up the house properly. What a great idea adding floating shelves are! I didn’t think about that before.
I’ve noticed that shutting the curtains has such a huge effect on keeping the heat in! So easy and effective.
I know, it’s great isn’t it!
with the energy prices soaring these tips are so helpful thank you
We have a stone floor in the kitchen which is nice in the summer but in the winter you need to wear extra socks just to walk in the room
These tips will be amazing for the colder months. Can’t wait to try them and have a warm winter.
Lots of good tips with ideas I hadn’t thought about
Great tips, I find really thick curtains really do help keep in the warm. We need these tips with the way the energy bills are increasing, it’s getting really bad!
Thank you so much for the sensible advice, it is sorely needed at the moment.
Great tips weve been using hot water bottles and layers to use less energy
It does make a difference although we need to make sure draughts etc are addressed.
Great tips. I have recently put a couple of draft excluders at my front and back door which helps.
Those do work wonders!
Some really good tips which we all need with the increase in energy costs.
People need help more than ever now the energy rise has gone through.
Tell me about it. So many will struggle over the coming months.
We are moving into a new house soon and it has dual heating zones so I’m hoping we will be able to save some money by only heating the part of the house we need
I have recently invested in some super thick curtains. This is such a simple and easy way to make your home a little warmer.
That sounds great, they do help keep the heat in.
For those who don’t know if your on a low income you can claim a warm front grant once a year from your utility provider worth £140. Check out if your utility provider does it and the criteria on Google
That’s great Carol thanks so much for sharing x
i hate being in a cold room. I definitely think having a thermostat helps because as soon as the temperature drops to a temperature you don’t like then the heating will come on. Saved me a lot of times
It can come in handy when the cold sneaks indoors.
Some really good tips here that I hadn’t even considered – thank you!
That’s great, hopefully they will help you save money x
There is only so much you can do within the house, especially if your renting, find our house cold no matter what we do.
There is unfortunately, although if it is too cold the landlord should be providing a heating source until they can make improvements.
Great points especially the furniture in front of radiator i never thought about this
It seems so obvious when you think about it but it’s commonly done.