Low cost home heating tips: keep your home warm during a cold snap for as little as £5
London always loses its mind a little when we get the smallest smattering of snow, but subzero temperatures are not to be sniffed at.
With energy bills increasing (again) and a cost-of-living crisis, it could be tempting to turn down the heating and put on another jumper – but that could have serious ramifications for your own health and that of your home.
Government guidelines advise that indoor temperatures should be kept between 18 and 21 degrees to pose minimal risk to your health.
Keeping your bedroom at 18 degrees is also the ideal temperature for a good night’s sleep.
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If temperatures drop below freezing, you run the risk of your pipes freezing over. Water in a pipe can turn to ice in as little as six hours, running the risk of an expensive call out from a plumber or worse — flooding.
Here are quick fixes and more long-term (eco-friendly) solutions to keep your home warm, whether you own it or rent.
Block out those draughts
Fans of lüften, the German art of ventilating one's home, may protest, but now is the time to make sure your house is sealed up tight. Don't let a chill wind get in through the nooks and crannies, advises property expert and TV presenter Kunle Barker.
"If you are renting or not renovating your home, do not despair. There are still things you can do," he says. The average UK home can lose up to 30 per cent of its heat from draughts. One tip for locating an offending window or door, says Barker, is running a wet hand around the edges.
"If you’ve not got double glazing, fix up secondary glazing film."
You can then place a draught-excluder or use tape to seal the gap over the offending area. B&Q sells self-adhesive draught excluder tape for £4.79 for 5.5 metres — that's 80p a metre.
"If you’ve not got double glazing, fix up secondary glazing film," says interiors expert Johanna Thornhill. "Thermal lining for windows can work wonders cutting out chills and reducing external noise." Thornhill also advises checking your floorboards for gaps and, if you're a thrifty homeowner or renter with a lenient landlord, plugging them yourself with "a simple mix of sawdust and flexible wood glue such as PVA".
An unused chimney could also be sucking all the nice warm air out of your home, warns Ruth Bloomfield.
"Consumer group Which? suggests using a special inflatable balloon designed to block unused open chimneys," she suggests.
Grab a space heater bargain
As long as you are not letting the house get so cold your pipes freeze (see below), a space heater is a cost-effective way of only heating the room that you're in.
They come in all shapes and sizes, so take stock of the space you are trying to heat before you click add-to-basket.
"If your home has an open-plan design, you’ll need something with more firepower to warm up the air quickly," says the Evening Standard's Abha Shah.
If your home has an open-plan design, you’ll need something with more firepower."
"A tower heater can cascade warmth over mid- to low-levels and is an unobtrusive design that just sits in the corner. Bladeless versions operate at such a whisper you’ll barely even remember they’re on.
"And there are floor heaters fitted with timer functions so you don’t have to worry about accidentally leaving it on all night."
Here are some of the best space heater currently on the market.
Stop pipes from freezing
It sounds counter-intuitive, but if you are in a pinch on the very coldest days if you leave your cold tap running a little bit it will stop it from freezing solid.
With a little forward preparation, you can purchase some jackets for your pipes from a DIY store.
If the pipes are internal but inside a cupboard, open the doors to make sure warm air can reach them.
The signs to look out for of a frozen pipe are reduced flow of water from your taps and, if you can get eyes on the offending pipes, then noticeable bulging or a layer of frost suggests you may have a problem.
This is a good point to call a plumber, but if you want to DIY your way out, the most important thing is to check your pipes haven't burst already.
If they're still intact, use hot towels or a hairdryer to carefully apply heat to the pipes while keeping the faucet running.
Upgrade your insulation
The above are all short term fixes but if you want to prepare for the next cold snap, insulation is something for homeowners to consider.
Keeping the warmth inside your house and out of the outside will lower your energy bills, says Barker.
"If you are renovating your home, upgrading your insulation is a great way to keep your energy costs low. This will future-proof your home," he says.
"The average three-bedroom, semi-detached house will cost between £8,500 and £15,000 to insulate from the exterior and £5,000 to £7,000 to insulate from the interior."
You should prioritise this before shelling out for an open source heat pump, says Barker, but if you do you'll be saving even more money in the long term.
"Heat pumps work best in well-insulated homes and require a third of the energy to run compared to a gas boiler." Plus, reducing your energy consumption means lowering your carbon emissions and thereby contributing less to the climate crisis, which is contributing to all this weird extreme weather in the first place.