Brrrrr – even with the springtime coming, cold weather always seems to be waiting around the corner. In dear old Blighty it’s pretty rare to even get through the summer without some kind of outbreak in dropping temperatures.
It seems as though just at that point when you reach for the barbecue, the rain starts drenching everything in sight and the cold leaves that barbecue forever dismantled.
Indeed, even as the summer comes around, you should be considering how to effectively heat your house for when the rain and wind catches you a cropper.
So, what can you do to make your property a steely fortress from the cold?
Make your windows state of the art
Big windows, thick curtains, double glazing – these are the three cardinal rules for good window insulation.
Firstly, big windows, especially in the summer months, welcome more heat into your house, retaining it when the chill of the night arrives.
Secondly, thick curtains ensure that the heat collected in the daytime won’t escape in the darkness.
Thirdly, a decent set of double glazed windows keeps that warmth in no matter what time of year it is, as well as insulating you from the pesky noise of the outdoors.
Insulate, insulate, insulate
According to Britain’s Energy Saving Trust, effectively implemented loft and roof insulation can last for up to 40 years without having to be replaced, and stop more than a quarter of your heat escaping through the ceiling.
As far as your walls go, pretty much the same applies. If you don’t have full-house insulation then your walls will allow heat to escape, no matter how often you blast the heating on.
Foil your heat’s escape plan
While you might associate tin foil with turkey roasting or conspiracy theorists making hats (really the only thing that those two practices have in common), applying a bit of it behind your radiators will reflect the heat back into your room, making it much warmer.
You might have seen people do this before and, admittedly, it probably looked a bit awful. Cheap tin foil climbing up your walls is hardly stylish unless you’re hosting a disco ball-themed party. But if you apply the foil subtly, you can gain that reflective heat without compromising your style.
Get Victorian with your stove
The Victorians may have been prudes who enjoyed workhouses and weighty, boring prose about dull, unbelievable romances (This bit isn’t related to heating, but sometimes you just have to get things off your chest, you know?), but they did get one thing right – the way they heated their homes.
By using an old-fashioned wood-burning stove, you’ll be taking advantage of a renewable energy source that costs two-thirds less than electricity, sawing your bills in half.
All in all, follow these tips and you’ll be toasty even when the sun doesn’t have his hat on.
