When the winter months roll around, everyone starts to scramble at different ways they can save money on their heating bills. With heating bills rising quicker than ever it seems, even more people will be looking for ways they can keep their home warm this winter, rather than relying on using their central heating for long periods throughout the day.
Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay
In this guide, we’ll go through some of the main ways you can keep your home warm in the colder months, whilst not spending a lot of money. Don’t worry, we’re not going to be giving you “tips” that encourage you to spend thousands, far from it! Some of these tips you will be able to look at for your home, and others may require a larger budget.
Service your Boiler
One of the best ways to ensure your home stays warm this winter is to invest in getting your boiler serviced. Think about it, when was the last time you had your boiler serviced. Well, other than when it was broken anyway… You’re probably having to think back a long way there.
Getting your boiler serviced is a sure-fire way to make sure it is running as efficiently as possible for the winter months. Meaning you’ll need to use it less as it heats your home quicker, saving you money in the long run. It really is a “win-win” all around.
Upgrade your Curtains
Having your curtains closed can prevent warm air from escaping your home, ensuring there is more warm air for you and your family to relax in when the dark nights draw in, but one of the best ways to use your curtains to stay warm is to ensure they’re kept open until the sun goes down!
Let as much sunlight into your home as you can whilst the weather is cold as this will maximize the warm air available and make your home more efficient when it comes to using your central heating. Then, close the curtains when the sun goes down and use your curtains to trap all this lovely warm air inside your home.
For an extra boost, try investing in heavyweight curtains for the winter months as these are much more efficient at trapping heat than standard-weight curtains.
Invest in a Shaggy Rug
Did you know that rugs can help keep your home warm in the winter? Bet you didn’t! But, now you do! One of the best, cheapest, and easiest ways to keep your home warm in the winter is to invest in a good-quality shaggy rug for your home.
Shaggy rugs define rugs that come with a thick, deep pile, meaning they’re able to trap heat within the rug pile and stop it from escaping. Ultimately, making your home warmer.
Not to mention, shaggy rugs offer a great place for your feet to rest at the end of a long, hard day at the office or wherever you work. We lose a large percentage of our body heat through our feet, so keeping them warm is a must. Shaggy rugs can definitely help with this!
Insulate
Now, we know this is going into the higher end of budgets now, but getting your home insulated is one of the best ways to keep your home warm as the days get colder and shorter.
Your home has a lot of areas where it can lose heat, with one of the main areas it loses heat (up to 25% in fact) being the loft or attic.
Installing just 25cm of roof insulation into your loft or attic is one of the best ways to insulate your home and keep it warm during the winter months. Cavity wall insulation, another method of insulating your home, could save you around $200 per year on your heating bills whilst making your home more efficient to heat.
Draught Excluders are your Friend
One of the cheapest items on the list is next up, draught excluders. These little contraptions are fitted onto the bottom of your internal doors, and they are excellent at stopping heat move from room to room.
Adding draught excluders to the internal doors in your home would only cost you around $300 but stop heat escaping the rooms where your heating is on, saving you money and ensuring your rooms stay warm for longer.
Close your Doors
Simply closing your doors is one of the best ways to keep your home warm during the winter. As explained above, heat can pass from room to room. Closing your doors stops the bulk of this heat from escaping and means you won’t need to have your heating turned on for a long period of time, saving you money in the process.
Rearrange your Furniture
When you are trying to keep your home warm during the winter months, rearranging your furniture can be one of your best friends. Make sure large items of furniture such as your sofas, beds, armchairs, and dressers are not blocking any radiators as that can stop the radiator from doing its job and heating the room.
Position your furniture so you are allowing a good airflow throughout your entire room. This will allow the hot air generated by your radiators a good passage to warm the entirety of your room, not just the small pocket of unused space behind your furniture.
Underlay, Underlay & More Underlay
Thinking of getting a carpet to help your home in the cooler months? Make sure you are investing in a high-quality underlay as well. This adds another layer between your carpet and hard flooring ensuring less heat can escape between the soft furnishing.
Author Bio
Ryan Jones works at Land of Rugs, one of the UK’s leading online rug retailers. When he’s not busy advising customers on the best rugs for their home, he’s writing about interior design. Regularly featured on websites such as The Spruce, Homelight, and MSN.
