AD Guest Post| You may be lucky enough to have made that first step onto the property ladder and are getting ready for your first winter in your own home. But have you noticed your house isn’t quite as warm as you thought it’d be? Do you find yourself turning on the heating more than you’d like? Are you having trouble keeping track of your energy usage?
Bring your fuel bills down this winter, and future winters, by following these tips.
Check your heating
Let’s start with your heating system, because even after you’ve made your home energy efficient, you’ll still need this to get through winter.
Firstly, make sure your boiler has been serviced. This can easily be overlooked if you’ve come from renting a property where maintenance is taken care of for you. A well-maintained boiler should work more efficiently.
Next, check if your radiators need bleeding. You can do this by feeling the radiators when the heating is on. There should be an even distribution of heat over the whole radiator panel. If not, you’ll need to give them some attention.
Fill the gaps
Right, now that you’ve got your heating working efficiently, don’t lose it! If your home is full of draughts and lacking in insulation all your hard work and energy usage will be in vain.
Check there’s some insulation in your loft and think about investing in other forms of insulation around the home. If you’re not sure what will work best in your property, get an expert in to discuss what will be cost effective. For example, you could save money adding thermal lining underneath your floorboards but will it outweigh the initial underfloor insulation cost?
Invest in smart tech
Technology is usually blamed for using energy not saving it, right? But smart meters and apps can help you take control of your energy usage and teach you good habits. Now you’ve followed the first steps to making your home warm, your energy bills should come down. But if they’re not, maybe it’s time to find out why.
If you haven’t already got a smart meter, you can arrange to have one installed by your energy supplier. With the meter’s help, you’ll soon see when and where you’re using a lot of energy. Seeing your bills rack up on a screen really does make you think. Check it after using appliances to work out what’s costing you the most money.
Smart apps have similar benefits, allowing you to closely monitor your energy efficiency. Some apps also give you the ability to control your heating via your smart device. This can be handy for lowering bills, but it can also be tempting to switch heating on before you get home to warm the house up, so use with care!
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I think, more than ever, I am looking at my own energy consumption – now that I am working from home I am so careful about the things I have on and when I can switch things off. This year has been funny for bringing things so closely to my attention!
Some great tips in this post, thank you!
Rosie
I’m always looking for ways to be more environmentally friendly and this is so helpful! Smart metres are such a good idea, thanks for sharing
Nicola
Energy efficient is one thing my house is most definitely not. We do have some serious work to do around that.
Starting with smart tech that works would be our first point of call I think, we have had ongoing issues with our so just end up switching it off. I think it would make a difference to our usage if we could see it in real time.
Insulation is a must, we are thinking about external wall insulation at the moment… the money pit continues!
Brilliant and very useful advice x
Smart meters are a great way to keep an eye on how much gas and electric you are using during the day, winter is the most important time of the year to be more energy efficient! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
Such a useful post! Especially in my uni house, we’re so conscious of how much energy we’re using so these are really helpful tips for that too!
Tash // A Girl with a View
These are some really helpful tips, especially for new homeowners! Smart meters are so useful xx
http://www.dellalovesnutella.co.uk/
These are good winter preparations. I miss winter in UK and US. In Malaysia, we only have summer.
We are closing on our new house today so this is perfect timing for me. Will have to go through your post again and make sure our new house is ready for winter. Thanks for the advice.
We have a smart meter and it is so helpful. This really helpful, I will definitely be looking to this post when I purchase my own home. Thank you for sharing Kayleigh
Such a great blog for this time of year x