Need Some Good Practical Tips For Reducing My Winter Heating Bill...?

I have been monitoring my gas, electric and water meters every month for a year now and can say that the biggest use of energy is for space heating. So tip one is concentrate on that first by:-

1) stop all drafts

2) insulate - roof, walls, double glaze windows, floors

3) turn the temperature down - even 1C makes a measurable difference

4) only heat the spaces you are living in to a comfortable level and economise in the less used areas

5) fit a programmable thermostat to change the temperatures during the day - and always make sure it's off when you are out

The next big user of electricity in those long winter nights is lighting. Fitting low energy bulbs makes a fantastic difference

After that, for more general year round savings don't leav stuff on standby. I have fitted time controlled switched to many of my appliances which turn them right off over night. The savings do add up - for instance turning my WiFi Router and modem off overnight saves over £20 per year alone.

Leaving the clock going permenantly on my oven costs me 0.7 p per hour = £63 per year!! Turning off when not in use saves a packet over time.

Finally, I suggest buying a monitoring device for your electricity useage is a very good way to get a handle on what's going on in your house. These can vary in cost from £5 to £50 but are well worth the initial investment when you discover where you are throwing your pounds away. Otherwise, just log what your meters read on the 1st of every month and calculate your useage (I use a spreadsheet which provides graphs) you will soon start to see how small (and inconsequential) changes can give good savings and also how other things (such as phone chargers and cooking by electric) have little long term effect.

I have considered using wind and solar power to suppliment my bills but I cannot see them being anywhere near economic for my purposes. Though, I am considering revising the layout of my house to take advantage of its southern aspect - where solar space heating does make a significant difference on sunny winter days.

I hope this all provides food for thought and if anyone fancies joining forces to form a knowledge pool from which we can adapt our lives to reduce the bills then I am happy to take part - just let me know.

Regards

Chris

Besides making sure your house is as well insulated as possible, make sure it is dry. Use a dehumidifier to dry the room and it will be around 5 degrees warmer and heat up more efficiently. Use an open coal or wood fire if you have one as they circulate and dry the air very efficiently. For portable heaters, radiant panel heaters work at a very low wattage so are inexpensive to leave on continuously. Calor gas heaters should be avoided where possible as they produce a lot of moisture.

Changing eating habits to wholemeal rather than white bread and pasta, avoid too much salt and make sure to drink plenty of water. Also eating smaller but more frequent meals lessen the glucose fluctuations and keeps body temperature more constant. Eating six smaller meals or snacks each day rather than 3 large meals would make a difference.

The main method of self heating is shivering, the body increases it's heat output x5 but the efficiency of this is lost with age or weakened state of health so take sensible exercise to increase fitness levels, whatever your state of health.

Use many layers of light clothing to trap air between them rather than one heavy layer. The body adapts well to colder temperatures and begins to acclimatise to it. The warmer the room, the warmer we need it to be but if the heating is turned down slightly, the body would get used to the lower temperature and be comfortable in it after a week. Turning up the central heating is not always the solution.

Turn the thermostat down on the CH. Put on a jumper instead of just a tee shirt.

Heat the rooms you are using not the whole house by switching to the fire in the main room.

Need to heat other rooms? ( buy small oil filled radiator, mobile and warms an average size room within 20 minutes)

Keep doors to unheated areas (like landings/halls) shut.

Check seals on double glazing and repair.

Containing the heat is the key..

Loft insulation, wall cavitys insulated, draft excluders on your doors & window If you only use a couple of rooms in your house more often ie lounge,bedroom then buy a oil heater for the bedroom & use your fire in the lounge this will save you hundreds by not using your central heating to heat the whole house, but like I say containment is the key to lessen your heating costs.

Reduced your thermostat by 1 degree will save you money.

Close all curtains at night to keep warmth in room.

Put draught excluders on doors and around letter box.

Put your heating on a timer, if your out all day you dont need the heating on.

Dont leave electrical items on standby, turn them off completely and this will save money too!

Go to a hardware store and buy the plastic film to put over your window's and shrink it with a hair-dryer.This will cut your heating bill almost in half and done right is almost un-noticeable.

! open wide all curtains to let sunshine in, in the day time, so the warmth can stay during the night! Less heating will be required through the night!

Get an air tightness test done on your property this can find air leakage in your home an save you up to 40% in energy savings when leaks are rectified

Turn your thermostat down, set your timer to come on for slightly shorter time, go to uswitch.com and find out your cheapest supplier

just have radiators on in 2 rooms of the house and open up the fireplace get wood logs etcor even get a strong magnet nr ur meter