Winter is most certainly here, and heating your home can be very expensive.
Here are six smart tips for keeping warm and toasty during the cooler months that cost nothing or very little.
1. Cut back
While shady plants near to windows offer fantastic protection from the sun and heat in summer, they’re not so great for winter. To maximise the sun getting into your windows, consider pruning back any plants that block the sunlight.
2. Hello sunshine
How many times do you drive past homes on sunny days in winter and see them all closed up? It’s very simple, but remembering to open up blinds and curtains on sunny winter days really can help to warm up your home. And it’s FREE!
3. All dressed up
Single pane windows are fantastic conductors of heat and, left uncovered at night, spend the evening transferring your home’s warmth out into the cool air – which is not so fantastic.
Thick curtains, honeycomb blinds, or a snug-fitting roman blinds with curtains are good options for winter.
4. Fans work in winter too!
Many people think ceiling fans are just for hot weather, but most are great for winter too (that is, if they have a winter switch). Putting them in winter mode makes them run backwards. Set them on their lowest speed and they will direct the warm air from across the ceilings back down to where you are. This will help you to feel a couple of degrees warmer and can also help to combat condensation problems on windows by drying them out.
5. Time to seal up
It’s one of the cheapest things you can do to cut down your heating bill – draught-proofing your house. Most hardware stores will have an array of door and window seals on offer for you to use. Consider draught-sealing and closing doors to rooms that you don’t use all the time, and are happy to leave unheated.
6. Thermostat control
For most people 22 degrees is a comfortable temperature to have your air conditioning set at. Some people are comfortable at 18-21 degrees. It’s worth keeping in mind that every degree warmer you heat your home adds about 10 per cent to your heating bill.
Dougmal Harcourts – The Property People are the leaders in local real estate. Call us on 4628 7444 to discuss any of your real estate needs
