Brits urged to make 1 ‘low cost’ change to cut energy bill ahead of winter | Personal Finance | Finance

Winter has a tendency to catch you off guard. One week, it’s a mild autumn day with a few showers here and there, the next day you wake up to a frost-covered garden and a shivering drive in your iced-over car on the way to work. However, there are several ways to manage the cold and the associated rising energy bills.

One of the cheapest ways to do this is to make sure your house is fully draught-proof. According to Smart Energy GB, draught excluders are a “simple and low-cost” way to stop chilly air seeping into your home and keep warm air in. You can buy them from home or hardware shops to stick around doors and windows, and other cracks. You can also deal with draughts without spending any money at all.

You can make your own draft excluders using rolled up blankets, socks or old jumpers. If you are into DIY and sewing, it could make a lovely winter project, cutting up old clothes and making a colourful draft excluder for your front door.

Victoria Bacon, director at Smart Energy GB, said: “With only a few weeks to go until Brits feel like winter starts, now is the ideal time to start preparing your home. Planning ahead can help you later down the line.”

Smart Energy GB has created a four week plan to complete ahead of winter’s arrival on December 21, four weeks away. They also say getting a smart meter ahead of time could save you up to £176 in bills a year, you can ask your provider to install one for no extra cost.

Here is Smart Energy GB’s four week plan:

• 4-5 weeks before winter: Check your boiler – see it it runs wihtout any waring codes or strange noises. Get it serviced by a professional once a year to ensure it’ll run efficiently throughout winter. This could save expensive emergency call out fees.
• 4 weeks before winter: Lower your boiler’s flow temperature – this means your water in the system runs a bit colder but means that your boiler can heat it up more efficiently and will provide hot water when needed. Find out how to do it here.
• 3 weeks before winter: Check the settings on your heating and hot water timer – You can programme it to turn off while you are out or asleep and set it to come on just before you return home or wake up.
• 2 weeks before winter: Bleed your radiators – Use a radiator key to bleed your radiators. They need it if the top half is cold when the heating is on. It’s caused by trapped air stopping the hot water flowing to the top of the radiator. let the air out with the radiator key until water comes out and it should fix the problem. Don’t forget to screw it back up again.
• 1 week before winter: Taking care of draughts before the temperatures drop as we have said above – Draught excluders are a simple, low-cost way to stop the chill sneaking in through gaps around doors and windows. You can buy them from home or hardware shops, or you can make your own using rolled-up blankets, socks, or old jumpers.
• During winter: Once the chilly nights are here, try to keep your home between 18 and 21 degrees. Don’t replace your central heating with electric heaters – it could cost you more.