How to ensure you’re keeping your home warm this winter | Tenant news

According to renewable energy comparison website and switching service Big Clean Switch, heating and water heating accounts for almost half of a typical household’s energy bill during winter.

With that in mind, we’ve looked at some low-cost ways to keep the warmth in your home over the coming months.

Thick curtains

Don’t underestimated the benefit of curtains. Hanging thick, lined curtains can really make a difference to the temperature in a room as curtains, and well fitted blinds, prevent heat being lost through your windows, which increases when the sun goes down.

If you draw your blinds at dusk, it can reduce heat loss by 13% to 14%. This increases to 15% to 17% if you have curtains, according to research by the University of Salford.

Lower your thermostat

Try turning down your heating thermostat by one degree. The Energy Saving Trust says you could potentially save £90 a year on your energy bills by doing that.

The World Health Organisation advises that we should keep our homes between 18 to 21 degrees. Meanwhile, the UK Government advises that homes should be heated to at least 18 degrees.

However, households should set their heating temperature according to their needs. Older people and others with medical conditions may need their homes a bit warmer. So only turn down your thermostat if it's safe for you and everyone you live with.

Foil hack for radiators

Using reflective foil behind radiators helps direct warmth back into your living space, offering an effective way to conserve heat and provide insulation. It’s especially effective on external facing walls.

Experts suggest using radiator reflective foil, but you can use regular kitchen tin foil and stick it to a piece of cardboard. Groundworks UK has an easy how-to guide on YouTube on installing radiator foil and says it can save around £60 to £120 per year on your energy bills.

Also, don’t forget to make sure that your radiators are not obstructed by curtains or furniture – there’s no need to heat the back of your sofa.

Reduce drafts

This might sound obvious, but remember to keep internal doors closed throughout your home to ‘trap’ heat inside rooms.

Using draft excluders or a brush on the bottom of an internal door can help, too. The aim is to keep as much of the heat as you can inside the room.

Check radiator valves

If your home has thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs), you can use them to reduce your energy bills.

The University of Salford found that using thermostatic radiator valves, which control the temperature in each room according to different needs throughout the day, reduced heating bills by 40%.

Experts recommend turning down TRVs in bedrooms, hallways and landings to mid-point as they don’t need to be as warm as other rooms.

Timer and thermostats

Use your thermostat and its timer to ensure your heating is on only at the time you need it. So if you’re at work all day, you only need to set it to come on 30 minutes before you arrive home.

You can set different temperatures and timings for weekends.

Using your central heating for an hour less each day could also save you as much as £145 on your energy bills over the space of a year, according to the Energy Saving Trust. You could try setting it come on 30 minutes before you wake up and 30 minutes before you arrive home.

And the MoneySavingExpert team advises that when it gets cold, resist turning up your thermostat. If it's set to 20 degrees, you should wait until it reaches the temperature rather than turn it up to 22 degrees.