Save Money With These 7 Simple Heating Hacks​

Judging from Ofgem’s report, we’ve almost never been this fed up with the businesses supplying energy to our homes. In fact, 1 in 4 of us isn’t satisfied with the accuracy of our bills or how easy they are to make sense of. So why are we sticking around instead of switching?

Well, for one thing, a lot of us just aren’t paying close enough attention to our tariffs. Fixing your energy tariff can be a good way to protect yourself against rising prices. However, once the fixed term ends it’s easy to find yourself rolling into a higher variable rate. At the moment, about 65% of us are still on high-priced variable tariffs. With the cheapest tariff basket rising by £22 after the price hikes we’ve been seeing since September, now’s the perfect time to switch. It’s not complicated to compare deals and swap to a better one, so it’s definitely worth looking into.

This might sound obvious, but it’s worth spelling out. Wasting energy is the same as wasting money. Even pretty small changes to your daily routine can add up over the course of a year.

Just to pick an example, nudging your thermostat down only 1 degree could net you an overall saving of as much as £85-£90 over the year. The chances are you’ll barely notice the difference in temperature – but you’ll definitely feel it in the weight of your wallet. The savings start basically immediately, and you’re in complete control. Experiment for a day and see how you feel. If you’re still warm enough, you can gradually dial your thermostat down even further until you’re happy with the balance of warmth and cost.

Beyond your actual heating, it’s worth putting a little more thought into the ways energy’s being wasted in your home. A study from uSwitch, for instance, found that just leaving appliances on standby when we’re not using them is costing UK households a whopping total of £227 million a year! Meanwhile, swapping out your lightbulbs for energy-saving LED types can save you £7 per bulb each year. Considering that these bulbs last for ages, there’s a fair amount of money to be raked in here.

Fitting good quality insulation around your hot water tank isn’t just good for your household budget; it’s good for the Earth, too. A decent insulation jacket will bring down a typical household’s carbon emissions by a massive 110kg per year. At the same time, you’re reducing the heat loss from your tank, so your water stays hot longer. It’s a win/win situation for everyone.

Your main thermostat isn’t the only way to control your heating system, and not every room in your home is going to need the same amount of heat. Depending on your situation, this could be as simple as turning down the radiators in rooms you’re not using much. Closing doors to rooms you’re not using can make a difference too. The Energy Saving Trust say, if you’ve got thermostatic radiator valves you could save even more. Fitting these could save you £75 a year.

Draught proofing your home could be worth a decent chunk of change at the end of the year. It’s one of the simplest things you can do to cut down the heat you’re wasting, too. While it’ll probably cost a couple of hundred pounds to get your draught proofing done professionally, it’s not that hard to do if you’re into your DIY.

You should think about your windows, obviously, but there are plenty of other ways to stop letting the warmth out. Your front door’s an obvious culprit, from the gap underneath to the keyhole and letterbox. You should also take a look at your pipework, loft hatches and even your chimney. If you’re not actually using your fireplace, just draught proofing your chimney could save £18 a year on its own.

While we’re talking about draughts, a few decent excluders will go a long way toward making the most of your energy use and cash. Draught excluders can help shore up the savings when you use them alongside your basic draught proofing. They’re easy to get hold of – or even to make yourself. Just a large piece of fabric stuffed with rice can make a decent enough excluder. You’ll need to think about where you use it, though. Draught excluders can be great at their job, but they’re only as good as where you put them. Stick one under a door, for instance, and it’ll be next to useless the first time someone opens it. Better to use an inexpensive weatherbar or brush strip in those cases. They’re attached to the door, so they won’t get nudged out of position when it moves.

Insulation’s a really important thing to get right if you’re serious about bringing down your heating bills. Up to 40% of your home’s total heat loss goes straight through the walls, with another 25% through the roof. By comparison, windows and doors account for about 20% - and even your floors lose you 10%.

Of course, insulation’s not cheap, but it does pay off over time. It all depends on your situation. Internal solid wall insulation, for instance, can run you about £7,400 in an average semi-detached house. At a saving of £225 a year, you’re looking at over 30 years before it pays for itself. That said, fitting up to 270mm of loft insulation in a typical semi could only cost you £300, while saving you £150 a year in lost heat and cutting down your annual carbon output by 600kg. Even just insulating under your floorboards could save around £40 per year.

The point of all this is to realise that your home could well be leaking money unnecessarily. Those leaks could be from dodgy insulation, wasteful energy use or even just sticking with the wrong supplier. Either way, you can take control of it and start bringing your heating bills down. It doesn’t have to involve massive home renovations, either. Even just a few changes in your habits can help.

Keep safe and warm this winter – and keep checking back here for more tips and updates. Remember – you’re always better off with RIFT.