Did you know that over 70 percent of the energy consumed in your house is used for heating? No wonder so many parents are obsessed with the thermostat!
As a result, getting this figure down will lead to lower electricity bills in the future and help to cut your carbon footprint (unless, of course, you’ve got solar panels on your roof). Here are some simple hacks for keeping your house warm, all year long.
Open and Close the Curtains
During the day, the sun provides the Earth with heat. The sun’s heat is free, so you should use it if you can. During the day, open the curtains and let the sunlight in. Natural sunlight contains infrared rays, a type of sunlight that we cannot see directly but is very good at heating up our homes. At night, when the sun is no longer shining, close the curtains again to keep the heat inside the house. If possible, opt for thick curtains that provide better insulation and make sure that there are no gaps between the curtains and the sides of the windows.
Sort Out Your Roof
As this blog post explains, a leaky or damaged roof can be very expensive. Not only does it increase the chance of mold entering your home, but it also means that more heat can escape. Because heat rises, more than 25 percent of all the warmth in your home escapes out of the roof under normal circumstances. However, when tiles or insulation is missing, this rate of heat loss can be even higher.
Upgrade Your Boiler
Replacing the boiler might seem like a big job (and to be fair, it is), but once it is done, you could stand to save a lot of money. Some experts predict that by swapping out an old boiler for a new one with an A – rating, the average family could save more than $433 a year. That means that within a couple of years, the new boiler will have paid for itself.
Maximize Your Insulation
On top of the 25 percent of heat lost through your roof, another third is lost through the walls. Although installing cavity wall insulation is not usually cheap, you could end up saving a significant amount of money every year. A simply cavity wall and loft insulation might mean savings on your bills of up to $198. In some states, you will have to pay for this insulation out of pocket. Nevertheless, it is worth ringing around various energy suppliers to see whether any are offering reduced-price or free insulation schemes.
Move Your Sofa
Pushing sofas up against radiators is a popular practice in many people’s homes to save space. However, it is not such a good idea if you want to save money on your heating bills. When sofas are pushed up against radiators, they end up absorbing all of the heat. As a result, your living room warms up more slowly.
Try moving your sofa out from the wall and away from your radiator so that the air can circulate freely. On the same token, make sure radiators are free from laundry too.