The heat is on

If you want to keep your energy bills low (who doesn’t?) and reduce your carbon emissions, you need to review just how much of your precious heat is escaping. Even little fixes around the home can accrue significant savings and bigger fixes will save more still.

Start at the top

If you’ve lived in your house for a while, chances are you already have loft insulation and think it’s good enough. But compared to a new home, even a twenty-year-old property will have room for improvement. If you can see the floor joists in the loft or if you’ve managed to install decking straight onto the joists, it means you don’t have sufficient padding underneath. In a new build you can’t even see the joists for insulation, and any loft flooring will be on specially designed ‘legs’ to leave an airgap above the thick material. While loft insulation isn’t expensive to buy, it is not a pleasant material to handle, and you’ll need skin, eye and breathing protection for the job. Unless you have good access to your attic and don’t mind a weekend’s hard work, calling in a professional is going to be a good decision.

Windows

If you have double glazing, ensure it’s performing as it should. If you have any condensation between the panes, it means the air gap has failed and it’s not much better than single glazing. You don’t always have to replace though, as a window repairer can often effect a fix at a fraction of the cost of replacement windows. If you have only single glazing, then you will either need to replace it or go for secondary glazing. The latter isn’t very attractive, although for some listed properties may be the only option Regardless of which type of windows you have, install blinds for both a bit of extra heatproofing and daytime privacy, and thick curtains for the evening. Is it worth it? New double glazing will be extremely effective at cutting your bills and will definitely add value to your home. Smaller measures are more affordable though, and still worthwhile.

Wasted water

Your heating bill covers your hot water too, so don’t heat water for longer than you need to. If you shower in the morning, try heating it for an hour before you get up and just keep adding fifteen minutes until you get enough to last. In the evening, if you only rinse off a few plates before switching on the dishwasher (which uses cold water), managing with cooler water will be better than heating a full tank.

Small improvements

• Check your water tank has an extra thick jacket and that pipes coming out have lagging. • Thermostatic radiator valves should be added in all rooms and in a spare bedroom just turn the radiator off completely and close the door. • Chimneys can be a real heat loss offender, so research what you can do to according to your type of fireplace.