As temperatures drop, staying warm and comfortable indoors becomes a top priority for many. Concerns over gas and electricity expenses often arise during the colder months, but there are numerous practical tips to ensure energy efficiency.
Renowned organizer and television personality Dilly Carter suggests a few simple tasks to prepare your home for winter. According to Dilly, starting with a smart meter can provide valuable insights into your energy consumption patterns, helping you identify areas where you can reduce usage.
Smart meters, offered at no additional cost by energy providers, display real-time spending in pounds and pence, making it easier to track usage. When focusing on the living room, Dilly emphasizes the importance of preventing heat loss to minimize energy bills.
She recommends using draft excluders on doors, letterboxes, chimneys, and window seals as a cost-effective solution. Additionally, installing thicker curtains or affordable curtain liners can help retain heat that escapes through windows. Placing rugs on cold floors, especially over draughty floorboards, can improve insulation.
Dilly also advises ensuring proper circulation of heat by rearranging furniture that obstructs radiators. For those with central heating systems, she suggests optimizing usage by setting a heating timer to operate only when necessary.
Efficiently warming up the house before use can help save energy. Dilly suggests that modern houses typically heat up within 30 minutes and retain warmth for another 30 minutes after the heating is turned off. When it comes to lighting, she recommends using lamps for a cosier ambiance and switching to LED bulbs to reduce lighting costs.
In conclusion, Dilly highlights the importance of simple yet effective methods to keep your home warmer without significant investments in energy-efficient technology. By identifying areas of heat loss, addressing draughts, and optimizing radiator performance, homeowners can make a significant difference in energy consumption during the winter months.