A guide to keeping your house warm in winter

With winter just around the corner, our heating and energy bills tend to go up as we compensate for the temperature drops and the days get shorter. With that in mind, you could save a substantial amount of money that would usually go on your energy bill, simply by ensuring that your home is well insulated. This will ensure that as much heat as possible is retained within your home’s walls.

So what’s the best way to go about this? Let’s explore a few options.

Doors and windows

Doors and windows provide one of the easiest ways for heat to escape your home, so one of the easiest ways to prevent this is to ensure that the frames of your windows and doors are sufficiently insulated, leaving no gaps or cracks in and around the frame.

This can be achieved through the use of threshold seals and weatherstrips. Weatherstrips are flexible silicone which, when combined with an adhesive, can be installed around the door or window frame, ensuring a tight seal. You can also install thresholds at the bottom of your doors, further minimising draft and heat loss.

Pipe lagging

As hot water travels through your house’s piping system, there is often heat loss. This can be remedied with pipe lagging (also known as pipe insulation). This helps them retain heat, with less energy being spent trying to maintain the desired temperature and saving you money.

Radiator insulation

One of the most obvious ways to heat up a room is by using your radiator, but their effectiveness can be reduced if the external walls surrounding them are poorly insulated. This can be combated by installing reflective insulation behind the radiator, this reflects heat back into the room, preventing it from being lost through poorly insulated walls.

Loft hatch insulation

Insulating your entire loft can be expensive, but a relatively inexpensive method of reducing heat loss in your home this winter is to install an insulated loft hatch. This results in less heat being lost into the loft.

Heavy curtains

Heavyweight curtains can make all the difference in keeping your home warm, as they add another layer of protection between windows (and doors, should you be so inclined) and your house’s interior, trapping more heat.

Rugs

Rugs are another effective and inexpensive heat retention method, especially if your house has wooden floors due to their loose structure. Rugs prevent too much heat loss escaping through the wooden floor and are also just more comfortable underfoot.