It's freezing! How to stay warm without turning on the heating: chic tips to cut costs
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Now that London’s temperature has dropped, a common enemy has emerged: the central heating. That damn, sexy, expensive central heating. While bills may not be as astronomical as they were in 2022, turning the heating on can kickstart cause a sizeable drain to one’s finances.
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The Energy Saving Trust estimates that by turning down your main thermostat by just 1 degree, it could save around 10% on your energy bill. But to realistically see any significant financial difference we’d need to drop quite a few precious degrees. Which begs the question: how do we stay cosy in Baltic conditions?.
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Let’s start with the basics, the key to keeping rooms warm is to plug up the gaps where cold air can rush in. Enter the draught excluder. It may seem very 80s and unchic, but draught-proofing is not to be sniffed at - research has shown that air infiltration through a sash window in good condition can be reduced by as much as 86 per cent by adding draught-proofing.
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Now we’ve closed the door on draught excluders, it’s time to talk curtains: to conserve heat in your house, you may need new ones. According to the University of Salford, drawing your curtains at dusk can reduce heat loss by around 15-17 per cent. That’s only if those curtains work, though. Flimsy net or mesh curtains will do very little, which is why John Lewis saw a massive spike in searches for thermal lined and black out curtains in the dark days of 2022, up 17 per cent since the year prior.
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Once you’ve got the draughts sorted, you need to follow the immortal words of money saving guru Martin Lewis: it’s time to start heating the human, not the home. It can be pretty pricey to heat an entire room or home, but heating your own body is much more cost effective.
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