Top Tips For a Warm House

Hello World!  Welcome Friends!  Keeping warm during winter doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. There are a number of things that can be done without major expenditure. Here are five do it yourself tips that will help to keep the cold out and the warmth in.

Make the Most of Your Radiators

Your central heating may be working well but the heat it generates 
could be going in the wrong direction. Walls can absorb heat from radiators, reducing their efficiency. A simple way to ensure warmth does not leak into walls is to make some simple DIY insulation to go behind the radiators. Take a piece of card large enough to cover the area behind the radiator (you may need to join several pieces) and cover the whole thing with tin foil, shiny side out towards the radiator. When this is placed behind a radiator the heat emitted will be reflected back into the room rather than absorbed by the wall behind it. Moving furniture that is covering radiators will also help to maximize their efficiency and output. 

Use Your Curtains and Blinds

As the days get shorter it is tempting to leave curtains and blinds open until the last of the daylight has really disappeared, but doing so can mean losing a lot of heat and energy. The NHS gives some very simple advice on how to keep warm, including drawing curtains and blinds when dusk arrives. By closing curtains and blinds, warm air is kept in. The cold glass of the windows is kept from the warm air of the room. It also helps keep out draughts. 

Bleed Your Radiators

Bleeding radiators is a simple but vital process. It helps keep your radiators and central heating system working properly by allowing trapped air to escape. To do this, you will need to buy a radiator key (assuming you don’t already have one). These are readily available and are very cheap. The key (it looks a bit like an antique clock key) simply slots onto a shaft connected to a valve on the top end of the radiator. On some newer radiators, this valve is opened and closed by using a flathead screwdriver, so check before buying. When the valve is turned gently, you will hear the trapped air escape. Keep the valve open until the hissing sound stops, and then tighten it again. This will ensure the hot water in your system is not impaired by trapped air. You can check if your radiators need bleeding by feeling for cool spots on them, particularly at the top, when the heating is on. Energy providers First Utility have made an illustrated guide on how to bleed you radiators.

Kill Draughts

One of the easiest ways to soup-up insulation is to eliminate as many draughts as possible. This can be done using purpose-made shop-bought adhesive insulating materials that simply stick around window and door frames to seal drafty gaps and household items such as newspaper, cardboard and even plastic carrier bags. These things can be used to pack around gaps between skirting and floors, holes where pipes and cables enter and exit walls and other cavities that carry draughts. 

Cover Your Floors

Apparently floors are responsible for around 10% of household heat loss. Wooden floors look nice but can be drafty so cover them with rugs during the winter.

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