Energy Saving Tips for Winter

After the British summer, you may be forgiven for thinking the weather could get much more miserable. Yet the colder weather is almost upon us and that means the boiler is getting fired up and the lights are going on earlier and earlier. If you haven’t already, now is a great time to start thinking about the efficiency of your property and take a look at some of out tips for winter.

What smaller things can prepare me for winter?

Whilst you may not need or want to make big changes this winter, there are some smaller tips that will help you out:

• Use less rooms during winter – if you have rooms you don’t really use too much, turn the heating off in them and try to avoid using them unless necessary.
• Change your duvet – Around October is a good time to switch from a thinner summer duvet to a high tog rating winter duvet. Once you get under that, you won’t have to have the heating on!
• Use your windows effectively – Solar gain is a really important tool. Even during winter, sunlight hitting a window will help warm a room. So make sure your blinds and curtains are open during the day and close them at night to keep the heat in.
• Look at your wardrobe – It is really easy just to turn the thermostat up when the colder weather comes around, but people often don’t switch to their winter clothes as quickly as they should. Get your jumpers and thermals out the back of the wardrobe and use them instead of going for more heating.
• Don’t use that spare fridge when you have the garage – If you happen to have a garage or outside storage area, you really don’t need two fridges running inside. Turn off that second fridge and keep things like cans and bottles of drinks and such in a secure unheated outside area, like your garage or your shed. This will save you more than you realise, and your consumables will be just as cold.
• If you have a dryer, chances are you will be using it more now it’s winter, so it is worth cleaning the filters to ensure it is working as efficiently as possible.
• Plug up those fireplaces if you aren’t using them – Using a chimney balloon or a chimney sheep, plug up those fireplaces you aren’t using. They really do lose a lot of heat in winter. If you are going to use them occasionally, you can still use these gadgets, just take them out when you use the fire, and give it a while to cool down before you reuse them!
• Get your boiler serviced – This is a great time of year to get your boiler serviced. You will now be relying on it for the next 6 months at least, so getting it checked is really important.
• Lights are needed more! – In winter you use your lights much more, so make sure they are all energy saving and give them a good dust to make sure they are giving off all the light they can.

We have written a more comprehensive list of energy saving ideas which you can access by clicking on the link below

>>> 100 ways to save energy in the home <<

What will make the biggest difference this winter?

As always, we really recommend looking at things like your insulation and your heating system if you haven’t already. They save a lot of money compared to the cost of installation and will last a lifetime. Give us a call on 0208 144 0897 if you think you might benefit from this, as there are still grant schemes available to get you free or subsidised insulation.