Keep your home warm for less this winter

We already know how winter can really gnaw at our wallets. In fact, Eskom indicates that, on average, household electrical bills increase between 30% and 40% during the long winter months. Keeping warm in winter does not have to be all that costly. Making a few small changes around the house will do wonders to control the cold, as well as your cash-flow.

Get rid of those little draughts to make a real difference

Simply blocking gaps or air leaks in windows and doors will make a huge difference to control the temperature in your home. You could install insulating pelmets at the top of your windows and consider lining doors and window frames with strips of foam. Even putting a threshold roll at the bottom of your doors will keep those draughts at bay.

Similarly, keep keys in keyholes to keep cold currents from slipping through and cover vents with paper. Not using your fireplace? Seal it up, even if it’s just with an old blanket or a board over the front of the fireplace.

Cover those floors

If you have tiled or wooden flooring, invest in a few affordable carpets to toss down. And if the carpets you have are especially threadbare, consider having them bolstered with some felting.

Insulate, insulate, insulate

Yes, we know that insulating your ceiling will cost a bit, but in the long-run, doing this will save you a lot. Approximately 50% of household heat is lost through the roof, so insulating that roof is possibly the best thing that you could invest in.

Tin foil is your new best friend

If you have wall-mounted heaters, stick some tin foil, shiny side facing outwards, behind the heater. This makes sure that the heat from the heater is not absorbed into the cold wall behind it, but rather reflected into the room.

Make small adjustments to get the most out of your heating devices

Close the doors of any rooms you are not using while you have the heater running so that no warmth is lost on unoccupied areas.
Switch your ceiling fan on low while you’re using a heater. This will help circulate warm air that rises to the ceiling.
Try using a heater that has a built-in thermostat, which would switch off when it reaches a certain temperature. In effect, this will help control the amount of electricity that is used.
An electric blanket could use less electricity than you think: Simply switch it on 30 minutes to an hour before bedtime and switch it off the moment you’re in bed.

Up the humidity

Hanging your washing inside your house will increase the humidity and in turn also increase the heat.

Snug as a bug…

Drink lots of warm fluids to heat yourself up from the inside. Be sure to only boil the exact amount of water you need, however, to still keep those electricity expenses down.
Cook and bake up a storm. You’d still have spent the electricity to make your food, but now it can double to bring warmth into your house.

Small, simple changes like these can help you save on electricity costs this winter. Why not try them for yourself?

Source: http://www.capetownmagazine.com