Part I: How To Keep Your Home Warmer in Winter

During winter, we naturally tend to hibernate and spend more time indoors. This often means more money spent on heating your home. Add to this coronavirus stay-at-home restrictions, and our power bills are skyrocketing. Here are some simple tips to reduce your heating costs and keep your home warmer in winter.

Curtain Call

The sun is a great source of heat, it’s natural and it’s free. When the sun is shining, open the curtains and let the warmth radiate in through the windows. As soon as darkness falls and the temperature drops, be sure to close the curtains. Up to 30% of heating can be lost through windows when it’s cold outside. Curtains act as a layer of insulation and help to keep the warmth inside.

Seal the Gaps

A few basic home maintenance tricks come in handy during winter. The first one is to seal any gaps around windows and doors to prevent cold air coming in and warm air leaking out. This can be done using rubber seals, caulking, and even a simple sausage dog draught stopper, or door snake. Not sure how to check for air leaks? Try the candle test. Light a candle, walk around the house and hold it near doors and windows. When you hold the candle still and the flame flickers, you possibly have an air leak. To double check, hold out the back of your hand to see if you can feel any cold air.

Circulation

Hot air likes to circulate and move around the house. Whilst it may be tempting to drag your favourite chair closer to the heater to keep warm, doing so will restrict the flow of hot air. The same happens when we place clothes racks too close to heating outlets. The clothes may dry quickly, however the warm air can’t circulate around the room. To keep warmer, try closing the doors to other rooms of the house that aren’t in use.

On the topic of circulation, remember in winter it’s best to switch ceiling fans to reverse. This will push the warm air down. If you would like to install ceiling fans, but not sure how, talk to our home maintenance team.

Heating Maintenance

Just like any machine with moving parts, your heater should be regularly serviced. It is best to have your heater, or heating system, serviced professionally every two years. Doing so will keep it well-maintained and running more efficiently. It also prevents minor issues becoming major, expensive repairs. A handy hint is to also keep heaters free from dust, and keep any filters clean.

For more lifestyle handy hints, head over to our news and tips page.

If you would like a helping hand around the home to make life a little easier, contact Simply Helping and ask about our range of home care services.