How to Keep Your Home Warm this Winter Without Using the Heating

Energy bills have increased drastically this year in the UK, with price hikes in April and October of this year meaning many are now struggling to pay the bills. With the weather getting colder, a lot of people are finding that they are only turning on the central heating when they absolutely have to, and a lot are avoiding turning it on all together.

Insulating and conserving heat in the home has never been more important, so know how to do so is essential. In this article we’ll take a look at the top ways to stay warm in your home whilst saving money on your energy bills.

Draught proof

Getting rid of draughts in your home will make a huge difference to the internal temperature.

You can do this by buying plastic adhesive strips to place around windows and doors. Look for any cracks or gaps and make sure all are sealed over. Investing in draught excluders to place at the bottom of doors will also reduce draughts coming from underneath doors.

Covering up keyholes and letterboxes where cold air can get in is also an option. You can use something as simple as Sellotape to do this, although be aware that you’ll need to remove this if you’re going out or expecting anything in the post!

Invest in rugs

If you have hard wood or tile flooring, this can get rather chilly in winter. Bare wood flooring with gaps between the planks can also allow cold air to seep in from below.

Rugs, on the other hand, help insulate your floor and make it less cold to walk on.

Close all doors

Ensuring all doors in your home are kept closed will help prevent room to room draughts forming. It’s also a lot harder to retain heat in larger, open spaces as opposed to more confined spaces. Besides closing all doors, it goes without saying that you should keep all windows shut too.

If you have rooms in your home that you don’t use often, make sure the radiator is permanently switched off and the door kept shut. Shutting it off from the rest of the home will mean it won’t matter as much if it gets cold in that room.

Reposition furniture

This may sound like a strange thing to do, but if feasible, rearranging your furniture will help keep you slightly warmer. Moving your sofa and bed away from the window will help keep you that bit warmer and reduce the temptation to turn the heating on.

If there are any draughts coming from parts of the room, position furniture to try and reduce these draughts.

Upgrade your windows or invest in better curtains

Double or triple glazing can massively help insulate your home. Windows account for approximately 10% of heat loss throughout the home, so having an extra pane or two in each window can keep your home a lot warmer.

Getting a whole house fitted with double or triple glazing can be expensive though, costing anywhere from £2000 upwards depending on the size of your home and how many windows you wish to upgrade.

A cheaper alternative is insulated, thermal curtains which will help keep cold air out and warm air in. The only downside is that they must be shut to be effective, so will work best in the evenings.

An even more cost-effective solution is to place bubble-wrap over windows, which is surprisingly effective at keeping cold air out.

Buy an oil diffuser

Humidifying the air with an ultrasonic oil diffuser will make the air in the room warmer. Dry air feels colder than humid air, so one of these handy gadgets will double as a humidifier and make your home smell great!

Ultrasonic oil diffusers are also fairly cheap, usually costing £20 and upwards, along with the cost of the individual oil pods.

Hopefully these tips will help keep your home as warm as possible without you having to turn on the heating unnecessarily. There are obviously other measures you can take to help keep yourself warm at home, such as wearing warmer clothing, buying a high-tog duvet and water bottle.

This article was written by an online estate agent House Sales Direct. If you wish to sell your house fast and for free, then head over to the House Sales Direct website for more property related information and enquiries.