Essential Heat Saving Products

Most parts of the UK have seen more freezing temperatures, ice and snow this week and The Guardian reports that the ‘cold snap’ is likely to continue for some time to come. Yet a short while earlier, The Telegraph The Telegraph had just reported that another two of the six biggest energy companies were nonetheless still going to put their prices up in January. This December has been the coldest recorded by the Met office during the last 30 years and it was estimated that this months’ gas bills alone were on average likely to be 47% higher than in 2009 due to the price increases combined with ‘the big freeze’.

Some of the most efficient steps I’ve taken to make my house warmer and more energy efficient have been both the simplest and the cheapest. I fitted good old fashioned PCV foam draught excluder strips to the frames of all my doors and windows. With less ‘gaps’ for the heat to escape through, every room in my house now noticeably retains more heat. Next I used film glazing to insulate some of the windows. You simply apply the film to the windows, and use a hairdryer to heat it just enough to create a totally smooth, ‘wrinkle free fit’. It’s quick and easy to apply yourself, and remarkably effective - if you have single glazing right now, this could be an instant and cheap alternative to the cost of installing double glazing. I do not have double glazing, so I created an extra layer of insulation for some frames with a product called Magnet Glaze. As the name implies, it uses magnets to secure a secondary plane of plastic sheeting to any frame to make the window even more efficient at keeping heat in. Finally, I fitted a draught excluder to the letter box. When you think about it, essentially, a letter box is a channel through the door, covered by a flap which has a little gap that lets cold air in and the heat out! You can insulate it with a straightforward letterbox brush draught excluder or use one with an added letterbox flap on the inside which conceals the brush and adds an extra layer of protection.

My outlay was very little. In fact most of these products cost under £10 but the house feels far warmer and I will notice a difference to my bills. I would say of all the simple things I’ve done to make the house more energy efficient, these spring to mind as some of the cheapest with a fantastic effect on both comfort and cost.