Your top five tips for saving energy during colder weather

Your top tip: “It’s important not to block radiators with furniture and bleed your radiators regularly to prevent air being trapped inside, which will leave cold spots at the top.”

We had lots of simple tips from you on how to make your radiators more effective at keeping rooms cosy.  

Firstly, bleed your radiators to keep them working effectively as this ensures that hot water can circulate freely inside them. You only need to do this a couple of times a year, but it’s worth checking before the cold hits. 

Also, move any furniture away from the radiators. If possible, keep your radiators completely unblocked so they radiate their heat into your rooms more easily. 

You could also consider installing radiator reflectors. These panels cost around £30 per pack and sit behind the radiator, directing heat away from the wall and out into the room.

The more effective your radiators are at heating your home, the less hard they’ll need to work. In fact, installing radiator reflectors could save you £25 a year in Great Britian (GB) and £25 in Northern Ireland (NI).  

We have more tips on the most economical ways to use your central heating.

Your tip: “Layer-up and use a blanket before turning the heating up.” 

One of the simplest ways of staying warm before turning the heating up is making sure you’re well layered and comfortable.  

Wearing several thin layers ensures that less heat escapes, and can keep you much warmer even without having to turn the heating up. Wearing cosy socks, a warm jumper and thermal clothing such as vests and trousers is a brilliant way to keep warm in your home. 

A warm blanket is a cold weather essential for lots of you too and is a great way to stay warm for less. Many responses recommended electric blankets, which can keep you warm at a fraction of the cost of heating the whole house.  

Lots of you recommended combining warm layers with a hot water bottle, which can make a big difference. Make a hot drink at the same time as filling your hot water bottle so you only need to boil the kettle once. 

Here are some more tips to staying cosy during winter.

Your tip: “Don’t use the tumble dryer where there are opportunities to dry outside.” 

Tumble dryers, radiators and heated home appliances all cost money to run, which makes air drying your clothes a great way to save energy . If the weather permits, hanging up your washing outside can be an effective way to dry clothes, especially when the winter sunshine makes an appearance. 

You can hang your clothes outside even on milder days, so long as it’s dry.  Doing this can save you £50 in GB and £60 in NI. 

Inside your home, hanging up shirts and jumpers on hangers to dry will ensure that the air can get to them. Using a clothing airer is a great way to let larger loads of laundry air dry, too. You can even use a heated clothing rack, which can be relatively cheap to run.  

We had lots of tips from you about giving thicker clothing an extra spin cycle in the washing machine at the end of a wash. Depending on what you’re washing, this may not extract that much water for the extra electricity use.

Our experts recommend setting the machine at the maximum spin speed when you do the wash to help speed up the drying process. 

Your top tip: “I’ve made draught excluders for the front back and kitchen door out of old cushions.”

Another tip we saw from many of you was to use draught excluders in your home. 

Draught excluders are a simple, effective way to plug draughty areas in your home. They can be especially useful in older homes in the colder weather.  

Try using a draught excluder under doors where you feel a draught. They’ll help keep pesky, cold draughts out, keeping more warmth inside your room. 

You can buy draught excluders for around £15, or you can make your own using scraps of fabric. The Guardian has a tutorial on how to make a DIY draught excluder. 

For more tips, read our advice on draught proofing.

Your top tip: “After I use my oven, I leave the oven door open to release the heat into my kitchen.” 

Since you’ve already paid for the energy to heat your oven, you might as well use that heat elsewhere. 

If it’s safe to do so, leave your oven door open a little after cooking. This lets the residual heat enter the kitchen, warming it a little. 

Leaving the door shut doesn’t waste the heat though – it just escapes more slowly. 

Of course, only use the oven in the first place if it’s the right cooking appliance for your meal. You might be able to save more energy by using an air fryer or microwave instead. 

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