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Home Decor · December 11, 2020

Top five tips to keep your home warm

In a time of more extreme and variable weather, more than ever, it pays to be prepared. Keeping your home warm in winter and cool in the summer is becoming more expensive each year, but massive changes are way beyond most people’s budgets.

Solutions don’t always have to be drastic, though. With heating your home (as with so many other things) is usually the little differences that make all the difference. Here’s a quick rundown of things you can do this and every winter to keep the bills to a minimum, all of which are no-cost or low-cost solutions.

Get full use of your thermostat (but don’t keep messing around with it)

Ideally, you don’t want to be heating a home if you’re out all day, so programming your thermostat to heat your home before you get up and then again before you come home can keep you toasty without costing a fortune. But, after a bit of trial and error to get it set the way you want – don’t keep playing with it every hour as constantly switching on and off uses more energy than you might think.

Get yourself some big heavy curtains (but keep them open during the day)

There’s no need to do this all year round, but when the leaves start falling outside, it’s time to switch the curtains for something more heavy-duty to keep the heat in at night. However, while it’s light outside, keep them open to let the natural heat of the sun in.

Don’t put your couch in front of an HVAC register (and keep the vents open, even in an empty room).

It may seem obvious, but having your couch where it looks best (or in prime position for the TV) may not be the greatest idea for your utility bills. Impeding the free flow of air makes your system work harder, as does closing vents in rooms you might not be using.

Make sure your HVAC gets serviced (But make sure you use a reputable company)

As time goes by, your HVAC is gradually losing power. So gradually, in fact, that you’ve probably not noticed it going downhill. Getting it checked over can often mean a warmer home and smaller bills. To get it right, though, you’ll need expert advice from a reputable HVAC company like GlobalHeatingAirConditioning.com.

Fill those small gaps (and insulate the big ones)

There are really obvious places where heat can escape or cold can get in. Cracked and damaged brickwork can often be repaired quite cheaply, and even if your home looks fine from the outside, gaps around your outlets and plumbing and vents can be also be sealed at little cost. All of this might be for nothing though if all your heat is escaping out through your garage door or your attic space. Getting both of these insulated isn’t low or no cost but will bring benefits over time.

Keeping your home warm, and your utility bills down, doesn’t need to be a major project, and a simple ‘to do’ list like this makes it all that bit more manageable.