Be prepared for the fast-approaching winter season
It's not news to anyone that the energy price cap is being raised and bills are getting higher and higher, causing stress and worry for many households around the United Kingdom.
Even with our recent bout of glorious summer sunshine, winter is lurking around the corner, and with the ever-rising cost of living – we’ve been on the hunt to find out how you can save money when you need to heat your home this autumn/ winter.
Here are some of the more straightforward quick fixes you can apply to your home to ensure you save some money on your next bill.
Affordable options
Don’t put wet washing on radiators
Hanging your wet clothes on the radiators may seem like a great alternative to the tumble dryer, however, it stops heat from travelling around the room – creating warm clothes but a freezing bedroom.
Thermal curtains
You can purchase thermal curtains which can reduce heat loss by as much as 25% - some start from around £11 and are a great way to insulate colder rooms.
Tin foil behind radiators
It may sound odd, but this will allow your radiators to heat your room more efficiently and let you turn the radiators down a bit. Attach foil to the wall – make sure the shiny side is as close to the radiator as possible.
Close off unused rooms
Keep the energy you are using in a room where it's being put to good use. Keeping doors open to rooms that are not being heated is like creating an inner draught in your home, keep these doors strictly shut
Move furniture around as a way of saving heat
Check if any furniture is covering a radiator – if so, move it to help to allow a better airflow.
Programme or time settings
Heating your home can post a pretty penny. Turning your thermostat down by only a degree can save you as much as £80.00 per year.
At Go assist we appreciate that during the cost-of-living crisis everyone needs advice, but not everyone has the same budget. We are confident that the tips above will help reduce the amount of energy you use and still ensure your home is warm in the cold winter months without breaking the bank.
But if you do happen to have the money spare to make an investment, there are more initially costly ways to save on your energy bills long term, such as the tips below.
Long term investments
Smart thermostats
A smart thermostat allows you to control the temperature of your home and decide how much energy you’re using through your central heating – you can use a timer, so the heating turns on when you want it to. The temperature can also be set from your phone so you can control your heating remotely. This could come in handy if you forgot to turn the heating off when you left your home.
Draught proof your property
A cold draught can cause your home to lose heat, which makes it more tempting to turn the heating up. Draught excluders or draught-proofing kits are a good way to prevent this. Seal cracks in floors and skirting boards, line your letterbox and block an unused chimney to reduce your heating bills by up to £35 a year. If you don't have double glazing, you can buy plastic lining for your windows to save energy and keep more heat in.
Laying loft insulation
If your loft is currently full of storage you’re not alone, however laying with insulation instead of miscellaneous could save you up to £290 a year. Laying loft insulation to a thickness of 270mm in a typical non-insulated three-bedroom semi could trim £135 a year from energy bills, as less heat will be lost through the roof and insulating cavity walls can save up to £155 a year in a semi-detached house. Solid-wall insulation, although more expensive to fit, could save you £210 in the same type of house. Read more about loft insulation here.
Lastly at the core of all energy bills is the efficiency of your boiler – with an ageing boiler it is inevitable that bills will mount. Admittedly purchasing a new boiler won’t save you money initially but it could save you hundreds in the long term.
Based on recent research, a detached house upgrading from a G-rated boiler could save around £300 a year. Not only this but the government is currently offering £5000 grants to 90,000 households to help with the cost of an air source heat pump through its boiler upgrade scheme. Find out more about this particular scheme here.
There are many ways you can make small changes to save money in preparation for the coming winter months and as our experts have shown, you can make changes that are economically low in price or make a higher investment like replacing a boiler.
Read some of our other articles about how you can save money on your energy bills.