How to keep your home warm in winter

Frosty windows, cold hands, wrapping up in thick clothes and keeping a warm drink close to hand - and that’s before you brave the cold conditions outside. Sound familiar? If so, then you may need to think about how you can keep your home nice and toasty during the depths of winter.

How can you do that, though? There are many different things you can do to make sure your house stays warm other than keeping the heating on - which isn’t only expensive but may be energy-inefficient if you aren’t in all the time. Have a look at these suggestions and see what you can do to stay warm even when it’s cold outside.

Service your boiler or heater

Boilers can account for more than half our annual energy expenses, so make sure you have a yearly service so it can run as efficiently as possible and help you to save on heating costs.

It may be that your boiler - or heater - has developed minor faults since last winter, so you could use a heater repair company in Winter Park, FL to fix any of these as soon as possible. This will help you to avoid any potential problems with these units in the depths of winter.

Use timers on your central heating

Programming your boiler to come on a little earlier in the day - such as half an hour before you get up - at a lower temperature is cheaper than putting the heating on as you need it at a higher temperature. That’s because a boiler will heat up at a constant speed, no matter what temperature you want it to reach. However, don’t leave your heating on a low setting all day: you’ll then be paying for heat that you don’t need.

Maximize insulation

Around 25% of heat is lost through the roof. Yet this can easily be reduced if you add insulation throughout your loft space. Also check your walls, as around a third of heat is lost in this way in an uninsulated home. Although it may not be cheap, cavity wall insulation will help you to save money on your energy bills in the long term.

Check that your hot water tank is properly lagged as well. Not only will it keep your water warmer for longer, but this will help you to also reduce heating costs.

Eliminate draughts

Your heat could be leaking its way out of any cracks and gaps in your home - along with your money! Cold air from the outside also likes to come into your home through such gaps, so do some draught-proofing that’s cheap and easy to do.

Detect the draughts first, so get a candle or some incense and wait for a windy day. Shut your doors and windows, light your candle or incense, then move around the edges of each space: the smoke will move if you have gaps that cold air can leak into your property.

Once you’ve found all the draughts, buy draught-proofing strips from a hardware store. You can also get draught-excluding foam or rubber tape for your doors.

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