Eager to keep the warm air in, and the cold air out of your home? Draught proofing is one of the simplest and cheapest way to reduce your energy bills
Reducing the draughts in your home and help you to use less energy, reduce condensate and damp, keep your home warmer and best of all save money. Common places you will find draughts are:
- Windows
Self-adhesive foam or rubber strips can be easily fitted to window frames and are cheap and easy to find in DIY stores
- External Doors
Install a brush strip to the bottom of the door. Use self-adhesive strips around the door and frame and use a fabric “sausage” draught excluder.
- Keyholes
Keyhole covers are widely available online and in DIY stores and are quick and easy to fit
- Floorboards
You can fill cracks and gaps in your floorboards with filler. Make sure to use something flexible and silicone-based
- Loft hatches
Insulate around the frame with self-adhesive strips. You can also insulate the hatch with ready-made kits from DIY stores and online
- Letterboxes
Install a good quality, spring-mounted flap over your letterbox in conjunction with a brush cover can help to reduce draughts
- Chimneys and fireplaces
If you don’t use your old solid fuel or gas fire it could be worthwhile to install a chimney cap to stop draughts coming down your chimney- that’s Santa’s job!
Other ways to reduce heat losses through draughts are to use thermal curtains and blinds. Shutting your curtains at night time could help to reduce your heat loss through your windows by up to 20%.
Laminate or tiled floors are easy to clean but chilly use carpets or rugs with underlay to help reduce the cold.
Other Areas to Insulate
If your house has a cavity this isn’t filled it could be beneficial to get it insulated to wrap your house in a warm coat of polystyrene beads. Which? Say you could save up to £245/ year however this varies property to property.
Heat rises, so the next place to make sure you have insulation is in your loft. Loft insulation could reduce your energy bills by up to £315 / year, depending on your home.
Professionally installed loft insulation will typically take a couple of years to pay for itself through the savings you’ll make on your heating bills if you go from no insulation to the recommended amount.
The recommended thickness for loft insulation is 270mm.
The recommended thickness for loft insulation is 270mm.First, check whether you have any insulation at all in your loft and, if you do, how much. If you already have some loft insulation but less than the recommended 270mm, then you could save more on your energy bills by topping it up.
Grants can be available for houses on low incomes or tax credits, but be careful to use a reputable company like a Which? Trusted trader.
If you have a Hot Water Cylinder that has no insulation (can you see the shiny copper?) you could be wasting money and energy heating your airing cupboard. Replacing your old cylinder for a new foam insulated hot water tank is best, but even installing an industry approved insulation jacket for £25 could save you over £100/ year!
Easy Guide:
Is your cylinder good condition? Install a jacket, available in DIY stores.
Does your cylinder have signs of leaks or corrosion? Replace with a new foam insulated cylinder, around £350-£400.
We hope these tips are useful, for more information on saving on your energy bills check out our blog on the energy cap rise and ways to save money.
