How To Lower Your Heating Bills!
It’s the question on everyone’s lips isn’t it, how can we lower our heating bills? Now that the energy suppliers have rocketed their prices we are all having to cut down on traditional heating because whatever our pockets, it’s blooming expensive and with a family of six, with 4 children in the house, we are having to be very creative in the ways in which we try to make sure our home is as warm and cosy as it can be.
The children asked recently why we have a mega expensive room heater if we can’t actually turn it on which made me feel like a real heel but then as my husband pointed out, the teenager who asked the question was wearing shorty pyjamas with a spaghetti strapped top at the time so rightly so she was sent off to put a jumper on. And we’re doing that loads, wrapping up with extra layers and blankets while we sit on the sofa along with hot water bottles to take to bed. It’s been a rather cold winter and with the beast from the east about to make an appearance any time soon the notion of layering isn’t going to be lost on my brood for some time yet but there are ways we are adapting to make heating our home more affordable going forwards to compliment the idea that we need to put on an extra cardigan rather than turn the heater on!
Now, yes, we do have a rather expensive heater and contrary to the teenager’s observation we do turn it on. We are just economical with when and for how long. Choosing a heater which might cost a little more in the first place is often a really good way to make a room cosy with saving pennies in mind for newer, more tech minded heaters can work far less cheaply than simply whacking the central heating up. We have a timer on ours which can be controlled when even out of the house using an app and it means we can come home to a warmer room than we might otherwise. It’s also smart and turns itself off when the room hits the temperature that we’ve set it to and while it IS expensive to run, it does do so more economically than older heaters so I’d say it’s well worth investing in.
The other thing we have noticed is that having carpets upstairs makes a great deal of difference to how warm a room is. Perhaps some might say it’s a placebo however, choose the right carpets with a decent underlay and that’s a level of insulation you might not have considered. We notice a vast difference between the upstairs floor of our house which is fully carpeted and the downstairs and loft room which have stone floors but we don’t want carpet down there. The alternative is to choose really good wooden flooring from a company like Flooring365 who know their stuff and can provide floors which also help with insulation.
Talking of insulation, loft insulation is absolutely paramount to keeping the warmth inside the home. As I mentioned, we have a loft room which leaves that floor pretty chilly with all its wonderfully wide windows and wooden flooring however, we have a second loft (our house is a funny shape) where we have invested in thermal underlay to stop drafts rising and heat loss through the floor. We notice that the rooms over that side of the house are considerably more cosy than any other which shows us the investment in the insulation has more than paid off!
Cavity wall insulation can also save up to 35% on your heating bill as apparently this high percentage of heat is lost simply through the walls would you believe so again, it’s a speculate to accumulate scenario but well worth it if you have the option. Nothing is cheap is it, but with costs rising exponentially in every area we have to protect the future so another great idea is to replace single glazed windows with double. My house has wooden framed windows and they can be quite draughty if not installed properly or maintained so that’s another thing which is one to keep an eye on and we’ve also discovered to make like my Granny and use draught excluders is a great idea. One of the rooms in our house has bifold doors which try as we might seem to let a little gap in here and there so excluders are the only way forwards and actually, they’re pretty kitsch and fashionable right now so at least that’s a bonus!
We also have a wood burning stove which though it does cost money in the wood, is a lot more effective than the central heating when it comes to keeping our purses zipped. We have ways of making it cheaper by seasoning our own wood which has been chopped down too – just call us Barbera and Tom why don’t you. In all seriousness the fire is a great addition to our home because not only does it keep us all warm but it keeps us all together – I love nothing more than a movie night with all the kids because even if they don’t want to particularly sit with us, they do want to be near the fire! Winning!
I’m looking forward to summer when I won’t have to keep shouting at everyone to turn things off and make sure they shut the porch door! But at least this winter has been teaching us better ways to save money when it comes to heating the house, next winter we’ll be armed and ready and for the love of me not shouting and my husband not being the grumpiest Daddy in the world, the children will HAVE to learn to keep putting their jumpers on!
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