The Winter months are well and truly upon us and keeping warm is on everyone’s minds. As well as keeping you comfortable and able to enjoy your home, preventing heat loss will also help to keep energy bills down and make your home more energy efficient.

There are endless ways that you can help to prevent heat loss from your home during the Winter months. Many of these are quick and easy to do yourself and will provide instant results.

Why not try some of the tips below to get your home operating efficiently all Winter long?

1. Watch Your Windows

Did you know that a pane of glass could lose 10 times as much heat as the same area of insulated wall?

Whether you have floor to ceiling windows or small portholes in your home, this is the spot where you’ll be losing heat from.

2. Cover Up

One of the most effective ways of preventing heat loss is to get well fitted curtains and blinds on your windows.

This will significantly reduce draughts coming in and prevent heat from being lost. Although having curtains specifically fitted to your windows is more expensive, it will save you money long term.

3. Get Aluminium Foil

Did you know that you can use aluminium foil behind a radiator, especially if it’s attached to external walls?

The reason for this is that it can reflect heat back into the room, ensuring it’s not lost unnecessarily. Many companies are now designing foil specifically for this use.

4. Open and close

It’s a fairly obvious one but always try and open your curtains during the day to let as much sunlight in as possible.

Even small amounts will help raise the temperature of the room. You should then always do the opposite at night to ensure the warmth is trapped and circulated around the room.

5. Double Glazing

Not only do double glazed windows keep significant amounts of noise out of your home, they are also an excellent way to prevent heat loss.

Far superior to traditional glass and sash windows in terms of energy efficiency, the initial installation costs will be worth it long term.

6. Chimney Balloons

Chimneys are very popular now as decorative features of homes. However if you’re not using yours, it’s essential that you consider using a device such as a chimney balloon in order to stop draughts coming down or heat escaping.

7. House Check

It could be helpful to do a quick walk around of your home and note all the potential places where heat can be lost from.

You’ll quickly gain an awareness of just how many openings there are (consider everything from large windows to small cat flaps), and once you know this you can start to work on reducing them.

8. Close the Door

If you have unused rooms, you may not heat them. In which case, keep the doors to these rooms closed so that heat from your main rooms is not lost into them unnecessarily.

Try to ensure that all available heat is centred on the rooms that you use the most.

9. Look at the floor

If you’ve got bare floorboards, you may need to think about rugs and blankets to help to prevent heat loss. Although carpets have decreased in popularity in recent decades, it’s worth noting that wooden or bare floors can account for up to 10% of heat loss.

10. Check the Roof

Although professional installation is a fairly lengthy and potentially expensive process, it’s essential to have a well insulated loft.

There are some DIY steps you can take and rolls of foam insulation are relatively cheap. Always remember to wear a facemask and goggles to protect yourself.

11. Set Your Timers

Don’t just put the heating on and hope for the best. It really does help to be savvy about these things so set timers to ensure your home is kept warm at the right times throughout the day.

Most people like to have the heating switch on shortly before they wake up and before returning home from work each day.

12. Exclude Draughts

As mentioned, there are so many ways for heat to be lost from your home. If you’re worried about cracks around windows and door frames, you can buy cheap and easy to install draught excluders from hardware stores which will give instant results.

13. Review Your Bills

Once you’ve made changes, you should be able to feel a difference in your home and how warm it is at the times you want it to be cosy and comfortable.

Keep an eye on your bills – review them regularly to ensure you’re keeping your home energy efficient and your heating costs low.