Costs are rising everywhere we turn, which can feel quite stressful at times, especially as the winter months approach.
The temperature in your home might be too low if you tremble every time you check your utility bill. However, it’s more likely that you’re overpaying to heat it. In either scenario, you may make adjustments right away that will keep your home warm and help you save money.
Whether you’re seeking for ways to reduce draughts from doors, or wondering how to fill your flooring we’ve selected the best advice that will cover everything you can do to avoid your home from feeling too cold while keeping your energy costs as low as possible.
15 Ways To Make Your House Warmer
Crisper mornings and chilly evenings don’t necessarily indicate a dramatic rise in your energy costs. There are some recommendations for investments that have up-front expenditures but will result in long-term cost savings, as well as more conservative actions that can have a significant impact.
1. Consider Installing a Smart Thermostat
Your home’s temperature can be managed by a smart programmable thermostat in a very energy-efficient manner.
When you aren’t home, it lowers the temperature and then begins to heat up when you go home. In this manner, it only heats when it is actually required.
A smart thermostat can be freely programmed:
For instance, you could set your thermostat to automatically drop at night, turn it off when you leave for work in the morning, and then re-heat your home for a relaxing movie night just before you get home.
2. Add Extra Layers
It should go without saying that your home will be warmer the more layers it has. Saving money on your heating can be achieved by keeping additional soft furnishings on hand. Consider using weighted blankets, best throws, and bedspreads to keep warm on chilly nights without running up your energy costs.
3. Minimize Those Romantic Fires
An open fireplace damper lets out as much hot air through the chimney as an open 48-inch window does. When there isn’t a fire going, make sure your flu is closed. In fact, it’s a good idea to limit how often you use your fireplace.
Over 20,000 cubic feet of heated air are expelled outdoors per hour by a roaring fire. Even if the fire appears warm, every Btu that travels up the chimney is replaced by chilly air brought into the house from outside. Of course, it will be expensive to heat all that cool air.
4. Move Your Furniture
Although it might seem obvious, a couch, chair, or bed that was relocated in the summer often remains there in the winter, preventing the space from receiving heat. Money is wasted, and the result is chilly rooms.
Any furniture that covers radiators will stop the room from getting warm. The amount of heat released will be limited by even a minimal blockage.
Additionally, it is recommended that you relocate your furniture away from any outside walls during the winter. You will feel more comfortable and feel less compelled to switch the heating on if you are seated against an inside wall rather than an external one.
5. Consider Your Habits.
The habit of turning on the heating as soon as the weather begins to fall is very widespread, but it can be expensive. Michael suggests, If at all practicable, try to determine whether or not you actually need to turn on the heater, especially when it’s earlier in the autumn months.
If you do insist on using the heating, pay attention to the setting you choose. According to estimates, lowering the thermostat by just one degree can result in a 10% reduction in fuel costs, not to mention energy savings.
6. Use Heavyweight Curtains
If your windows are single-glazed, thermal-lined curtains can help you keep the cold out more efficiently. Make sure your curtains are lined, if thermal curtains aren’t in your price range. Generally speaking, the thicker the better, and blackout curtains are excellent at hiding heat. This curtain concept is brilliant and ought to really help on chilly mornings when your heater may have been turned off overnight.
Keeping your curtains closed or investing in a thermal curtain lining will also assist prevent warm air from leaving. This simple tip alone can cut heat loss by up to 25%.
7. Think of an Electric Blanket
You may be sure that the greatest electric blankets will keep you from feeling cold on a chilly winter evening. Choose an under electric blanket, which rests on top of your mattress, if your bed is where you want to feel the warmest.
Alternately, you can transfer an overly-electric blanket from your sofa to your duvet to keep you warm whenever you need it. Depending on the model, electric blanket operating expenses might vary, but they are generally less expensive than other types of heating.
8. Add a Rug to Your Room
Put a rug if your floors seem cold. Contrary to what you would believe, it is more useful than it seems. A rug will not only prevent your feet from feeling cold, but it will also add a layer of insulation. Add a rug with a rug pad below it to rooms that are particularly chilly, such as the bathroom, kitchen, or places on the ground floor. Double the insulation!
9. Examine Any Draughts
Many older homes with single-glazed windows and doors run the risk of letting in outside air and allowing heat to escape. It would be worthwhile to invest in stronger doors with at least double glass if there are major draughts that can’t be easily concealed. Assess all of your windows and doors and see whether there are gaps in the frame that allow draughts to flow freely.
Invest in draught stoppers, which may be used to fill holes in frames, if your budget won’t allow you to replace your doors and windows or if you’re renting and can’t make significant alterations. However, this is not a long-term fix.
10. Give Your Radiator an Assist
Use aluminum foil taped behind the radiator to reflect heat into the room rather than the wall if you want to obtain a little more heat from your radiator. It seems garish, but it works great and you’ll never see it.
Additionally, avoid using your radiator as a bookshelf because heat rises, obstructing the warm air’s natural flow.
11. Adjust Your Water Heater
In the winter, you use more hot water. Reduce the water heater’s setting from 140 to 120 degrees. Take showers instead of baths. As stated by the U.S. According to the Department of Energy, a typical bath can use up to 25 gallons of hot water, whereas a five-minute shower uses just about 10 gallons.
Installing low-flow shower heads in your showers will also significantly reduce the amount of hot and cold water used.
12. Heat Only Rooms You Use
This one is really significant. Heating only the rooms you use is essential and should be practiced consistently.
For this reason, if your apartment has five rooms and you only use one of them while heating the others, you will waste 80% of the energy. Simply turn on the heater when you enter a room, and turn it off (or down) when you leave is all there is to it.
With a common space heater, you can apply the following straightforward method:
Use your central heating to keep your home at a comfortable temperature. Carry a space heater around with you in the meanwhile. Turn on the space heater whenever you enter a room and allow it to warm up.
In this manner, heat is only produced where it is required. In small places, space heaters create concentrated heat that is particularly effective.
13. Close Doors and Windows
This one can sound overly simple, but that’s also why it’s easy to forget. A room can lose heat quickly through open doors, which increases the likelihood that the central heating will be turned on later in the day. You may instantly make your home feel warmer by simply closing the doors. Of course, windows also fall within this rule.
14. Fit a Floating Shelf Above Radiators
Use a floating shelf to regulate the heat flow in a space. Installing a floating shelf above the radiator will help direct heat away from the radiator and away from the room, preventing wasteful heat from rising to the ceiling. Additionally, the shelves offer the ability to create a photo shelf or extra storage.
15. Use Nature to Your Advantage
You can obtain a lot of heat through south-facing windows, particularly in the winter when the sun is low in the sky. Open the blinds or curtains during the day and shut them at night to keep the warm air inside. For additional insulation at night, take into account heavy, lined curtains. The only requirement is that they be thick enough to stop a draft.