Many of us have lived in draughty houses at some point, turning the heating up to combat chilly toes and noses.
All too often, Britain’s houses lack effective insulation, resulting in expensive heating bills during colder months. According to AXA, approximately £1 in every £4 spent on heating in Britain is wasted as a result of poor insulation. If you feel your house could benefit from better insulation but don’t have a big budget to play with, fear not. The following hints and tips will help keep draughts in check during those cold winter days without breaking the bank.
Quick fixes for single-glazed windows
Windows are all too often a major source of draughts in UK homes. If your home is single-glazed, fitting a window insulation film to your frames can act as a cheap way to keep the cold out, but it is no alternative to double glazing.
Green it yourself have a helpful how-to video on their website for those looking to fit insulation film. Insulation tape also works a charm for draughty window frames. Tape can be bought cheaply from reputable DIY stores and is applied directly to the frames using the self-adhesive backing.
Draughty doors? No problem
If you can feel a draught around your feet when relaxing on the sofa in the winter, the chances are your door is the culprit. Many houses fall victim to draughty doorways as a result of them being warped or poorly fitted.
If you can’t afford to replace the doors in your house with snug-fitting ones, don’t panic. Low-cost DIY solutions are on hand. Either pop down to your local home furnishings shop and pick up a ready-made draught excluder or, if you feel like doing it yourself, journalist Sally Cameron Griffiths shows you how to make your very own draught excluder in an article for The Guardian. A great way to insulate your home on a budget without compromising on style.
Your lofts get cold, too
The famous saying ‘out of sight, out of mind’ rings true for draughty lofts. Unlike doors and windows, a poorly insulated loft can be harder to diagnose and fix. If you’ve insulated your doors and windows but are still feeling chilly, your loft may be what you need to look at next. If it’s easy to access, the job should be pretty straightforward. If not, you may need to call in expert help to avoid causing damage to yourself or your home.
The following products can be used to insulate your roof:
- Rolls of glass fibre or Rockwool
- Sheep-wool insulation (slightly pricier option, but much nicer to handle and 100% sustainable)
Most importantly, always make sure that you wear protective gloves, glasses and a mask when fitting loft insulation. Ovo energy’s useful guide features step-by-step instructions on how to do this yourself. Lastly, if you are looking to convert your loft into something more useful and homely, check out https://visionarylofts.co.uk/
Wooden floors love rugs
We love old wooden floors but they can be a serious source of heat loss if left uncovered. An easy insulation fix? Throwdown a large, warm rug to prevent cold air from coming into your home and warm air from escaping. Gaps around skirting boards can also be problematic during winter months which makes harder work for your boiler to keep warm. These can be remedied at very little cost with a tube of shop-bought sealant.
In an ideal world, every house would have double or triple glazing, energy-efficient heating and fully insulated walls, and using reputable companies such as Everest Home Improvements, is the ideal way to make your home as energy-efficient as possible. But when the purse strings are pulled extra tight, these top tips are sure to help make your home that little bit warmer and cosier during those cold winter spells.