How to Keep the Heat in and Save Money this Winter

 As the weather gets colder, you may be concerned about your power bills. And for many people, winter is code for “astronomical bills” and even if you had high bills last year, you may not be prepared for the price shock.

Here are some ways you can save money this winter:

Shorten your bathroom time

If you switch from using water heated by electricity to water heated by gas, you’ll find yourself saving up to 60%. Another good tip is to take shorter showers. This can be a hard one if you’re the type who needs a steaming hot shower to wake up in the morning, and another one to rinse off before you can sleep at night. Many people also use showers to warm up if the room is chilly, but long, hot showers are one of the worst ways to make your heating bill rise.

Try to stick to 5 minutes or less for your showers and encourage your family to do the same.

Double Glaze your windows

It’s scary how much heat is lost through our windows. Consider getting a secondary glazing kit, which looks like glass but is much stronger and cheaper and will greatly reduce the amount of heat you lose through your windows (and also reduce noise).

Wear more clothes

This may seem obvious, but often we don’t want to wear too many clothes inside the house. But wrapping up warm (and ensuring the rest of the family does the same) will mean that you don’t need to have the heat as high. Another option is to fill some hot water bottles and encourage the family to use them if they’re sitting around. Thick socks, long sleeves and warm jumpers along with some blankets will make a huge difference to your power bill.

Check your insulation

Often we think we’ve got adequate insulation, but it may not be installed correctly or have the right rating. Insulating your ceiling (or walls) can make a huge difference to how much you’re paying for electricity but you should check your insulation before winter comes around.

Trap the heat in

If the whole family is in the lounge, shut the bedroom doors and keep the heat in one area of the house. Close your blinds and curtains and plug any gaps under doors to stop cool air from leaking in and warm air from leaking out.

Check your appliances

We all know that we should be regularly checking our appliances to keep ourselves and our families safe, but there’s another reason which many people are unaware of- dirty or old kitchen appliances may have a bad impact on how high your electricity bill is.

By regularly defrosting your fridge and freezer and cleaning your appliances and dishwasher filters, you’ll be improving the hygiene and your bills. It’s also a good idea to check the seals on your oven, fridge and freezer since if these are wearing away your appliances will be working harder and using more energy.