A radiator shaped like a house on a blue background.

As the weather gets colder, more and more people will be thinking about turning on their heating. The average Brit typically switches their heating on in October and leaves it on until March or April. However, using alternative methods to heat your home not only cuts bills, but also helps to reduce carbon emissions. Here are a few tips to help keep the heat in, and the cold out, as autumn rolls in!

Tin Foil

This is a good way to reflect heat from radiators back into your home, especially if they are attached to an external wall. Heat reflective foil behind the back of your radiator prevents the wall from absorbing the heat and bounces it back into the room itself. Foil specially designed for this purpose can be bought for around £10 – you can use normal foil, but it is renowned for being less effective.

 

Curtains

Thick curtains are one of the best ways to stop your house from losing heat as the weather gets colder. Windows are one of the main places a house loses heat, so investing in some thermal curtains is a cheap way of keeping the heat in. If you don’t want to buy some, sewing an old fleece blanket to the back of some old curtains will also work just as well. Even placing a curtain or blanket over doorways can help to keep heat in when it starts to get really cold.

 

Sunlight

Before you shut those curtains, make sure you’re utilising the natural sunlight pouring through those windows. Close your curtains as soon as dusk falls to maintain the natural heat inside your home.

 

Mini Draughts

Draughts don’t always have to come from obvious places, like windows and doorways. Keyholes, letterboxes, and cat flaps are the main culprits for mini draughts, but there are ways you can reduce this. Investing in a letterbox brush will help to keep as much heat in as possible, whilst also stopping quite as much junk mail from coming through! Circular keyhole covers can be bought which slip over the top, and cat flaps that lock shut when not being used are also a good investment to keep the heat in. If you don’t want to spend a lot on a new cat flap, however, fill them with pieces of old blanket to act as insulation.

 

Draught Excluders

A draught excluder is a brilliant way to keep heat in rooms. Instead of buying one, why not make one? All you need is a pair of old tights and some socks or old fabric to stuff them with. By doing this and wedging any spaces under doorways or windows, you’ll be able to stop heat escaping through the gap between the floor and door.