Top Tips – How to improve energy efficiency at home and reduce bills

With Winter well and truly underway most of us use more heat and energy at home. We may look for ways to make our home energy efficient and to reduce our bills.  This is important whether we are at home or if like snowbirds we go away for the Winter and ask housesitters to move in to care for our pets and property. Bills still have to be paid.

In Winter energy bills are high

Winter often brings frost and snow, and we find ourselves scraping ice off our cars each morning, trying not to slip over on the frosty pathways. Inevitably we use our heating far more than we’d like.  This time of year is without a doubt, known as one of the most expensive times for our spend on utilities.

The days are short, the nights are cold, and if we can avoid going out and facing the icy winds, many of us do! However, there are ways that you could make your utility bills cheaper. In this blog we offer some top tips for how to make your home energy efficient.

You should also give yourself an energy health check from time to time. Energy prices go up and down and different suppliers modulate their prices for gas, oil and electricity with different promotional plans to attract new clients. It is always worth keeping tabs on what suppliers are charging in your geographical area. By following the tips on how to make your home energy efficient you could save you a lot of money over the year.

Home maintenance top tips

Make your home energy efficient – Insulate well

One of the biggest reasons people spend a lot on their heating unnecessarily year round, is because of ineffective home insulation.

There are expert companies all over the country such as Cavitech-UK who will come and assess your level of insulation, and help you to fix it if need be.

Consider cavity wall insulation

Cavity wall insulation is highly recommended in a lot of these circumstances. Sometimes insulation becomes aged or damaged over long periods of time, so having a home warranty in place is highly recommended to help cover the costs of any professional work you may need doing to it.

Having good working insulation is so important because unlike heating which simply produces warm air, it retains the warmth inside of the home. Because of this, you won’t have to turn your heating as high, or for as long. Therefore it makes the energy rating in your home better. This is not only good for your bank account and the environment, but it’ll improve your Energy Performance Certificate too. And so if you ever plan to sell, your home will go up in value. The more you know!

Make your home energy efficient – Seal against any draughts

Have you ever considered that your house it chillier than it needs be, due to gaps and holes letting in a draught in and the warm air out.

When was the last time you checked your windows, for example? Double glazing has come a long way in its lifetime, so if your windows haven’t been upgraded in a while, now might be the time to take the plunge.

Likewise, what about the sealing around your windows and doors? This is something you can DIY if you’re watching your pennies on the lead up to Christmas, and will make the world of difference to the overall temperature of your home. Sometimes the smallest improvements, make the most notable difference.

Invest in heavier curtains

If you’ve still got your light, Summer curtains up after November, this could be where you’re going wrong. In your quest for improved energy efficiency in your house why not try heavier insulated curtains for Winter.

Through the Winter months, you should always be looking to invest in heavier curtains and blinds. We know you don’t have to keep the light out as much in these months. But curtains can help to keep out the cold, and if your windows aren’t doing the trick then some new blinds or curtains might! Plus they’ll make your home look and feel cosier, which can never hurt.

Update Your Heating System

Okay, so this is a pretty big one. If you haven’t done so in a while, then now might be the time to review and possibly update your heating system. There are so many upgrades you can make nowadays. Whether you are looking at improving or replacing boilers, radiators heat exchange pumps, it’s worth checking.  Today there are some much improved models, that are far more efficient than some of the older models. Think of it as an investment and this investment can also lead to monthly savings.

Smart meters are great, because you can set them onto automatic. One thing a lot of us are guilty of doing, is leaving our heating “on low” when we’re out. We do this so we don’t come home to a cold house. It might seem harmless, but it all adds up. With a smart meter, you can set it to come on at a time of your choosing – which eliminates that entirely.

Watch Your Water Usage

Last of all, just keep an eye on your water usage!

Having regular baths instead of showers? Running the tap on constant while shaving or brushing your teeth? All of these things add up together and contribute to poor energy efficiency in the home. Combat them simply by being more aware.

If we were just that little more aware, we could reduce our carbon footprint and save money!

HANDY REFERENCES ABOUT MAINTAINING PROPERTY AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY

At Housesitmatch.com we like to offer useful and practical articles on topics for our readers. In this selection we offer you a number of suitable pieces from our own blog on maintaining a home and energy effiicency.

Maintaining a sustainable lifestyle at home

Switching to solar – The big benefits

Ideas to help you establish a new home quickly

Housesitters keep pets safe at home and save money

What a housesitter does – Top 10 responsibilities