According to a Which.co.uk survey, almost a fifth of all UK homes had their boilers breakdown during the winter. Of course, without a fully functioning boiler in the winter, you are going to be left feeling fairly cold. Before the Winter season kicks in, we always recommend that you either service your boiler or install a new boiler beforehand.
Along with a working boiler, there are a number of additional methods that you can do to ensure you can keep your home warm during winter. These tips will also help reduce household bills too as you may not need your boiler turned on all day and night. Below are our 5 tops methods to ensure your are kept warm:
1. Windows
The most obvious method is of course to keep the windows shut when possible. If you are allowing heat to escape through the windows, you will never be able to heat your home fully. You will want to exclude any draughts and this may mean you will have look to check the frames. You may need to apply a small amount of adhesive or foam strips to block the draught (if there is one).
If you are yet to install double glazing, this may be an excellent solution but of course, this can be fairly expensive.
2. Curtains
To further protect any heat leaving your house via the windows, you could also invest into curtains with a thermal lining for extra insulation. To ensure you are getting the most from them, we recommend that you leave the curtains open during the day and shut at night. This will lock all the heat in the home and ensures it cannot leave via the windows.
3. Radiators
Radiators are an important feature of any central heating system and they need to be used effectively. So many people will block the radiators with either a sofa or any other home objects, which prevents the warmth passing throughout the house. Simply having a move around of your furniture during the winter can make a huge difference.
There are other tricks that you can do too, this includes installing shelves directly above the radiator. Hot air rises but the shelves will assist with passing the warmth to other areas of the house rather than just upwards. You can even places a reflective cardboard (or similar) behind the radiator to reflect heat back in the room.
Performing some home maintenance will also be of great help too. Bleeding the radiators will remove any pockets of air and ensure the whole of the radiator gets warm.
4. Flooring
The floor of your house is another way heat will escape from the house (almost 10 to 15% of heat). Those with tiled flooring can feel the cold a fair amount more compared with those with carpet flooring. Investing into underfloor heating may be a good option.
Those that have wooden floorboards (or similar) can see a fair amount of heat lost via the gaps. If this is the case, simply laying down a rug in the coldest areas would make a big difference and stop heat escaping.
5. Boiler
The main source of all heat is of course the boiler and if it has not been maintained, it can become problematic. Servicing your boiler before it turns to the cold winter season is vital.
Many people will not be able to afford to have the boiler on maximum heat all day. However, tactically using your boiler at a lower temperature and in certain rooms during the day is the best way to keep bills down. For example, you will not be in your bedroom during the day, so its advised to turn that radiator off until the late evening.
