According to the Energy Saving Trust, if we in the UK took steps to draught-proof our homes we could save nearly £200m giving our household budgets a welcome boost.
Start saving your family money now by reading our guide to draught proofing your home.
DIY Job
The great news about draught proofing your home is that it’s something you can do yourself for relatively little money.
Firstly you’ll need to find out where your draughts are located, though if you’re reading this you’re probably all too aware!
Wherever you can feel a draught you can be sure that the heating you work hard to finance is escaping out into the street. Window frames and ill-fitting doors are all prime suspects, along with letter boxes, cat flaps and keyholes (try sticking a piece of masking tape over these for a quick fix).
Pane in the Glass
Double glazing is the perfect solution for draught proofing windows, so although this isn’t a DIY job, it’s worth spending the money if you can.
Good double glazing can stop half of the heat you currently lose from escaping so you should notice a significant difference in your heating bills.
For the really budget conscious or any new students currently shivering in rented accommodation, try to seal any obvious gaps around the window frames with glazing film or even tape. It may not look pretty but it will be sufficient until you can raise funds or get your landlord on side.
Cold Front
Badly-fitting front doors can deliver an icy blast straight into the heart of your home, especially unpleasant if your front door enters into your living room.
To draught proof letter boxes take a trip to your local DIY store and buy specially made brushes that serve to fill any gaps. Similar materials can be used between the bottom of your door and the floor.
Stickey sealant strips are also widely available, making light work of preventing heat escaping from gaps around your door.
Technology has moved on since the draught excluding snake but you can still buy these if you want a more creative way to conserve energy!
Cold Feet
If you happen to live in a period property with beautiful exposed floorboards you’ll know that there’s a price to be paid for original features.
You probably won’t be keen to block the gaps with proprietary filler but laying rugs will help add style while providing adequate draught proofing.
Healthy Home
Don’t forget that to prevent damp and mould from building up in your home it’s important to ventilate the property sufficiently.
As well as being unsightly, these conditions can be damaging to your health so ensure that you’ve got extractor fans or air vents where necessary.
Get into the habit of opening windows if you dry washing inside, too, and keep it off radiators.
Draught proofing your home is not difficult to achieve and you’ll notice a real difference to your household outgoings.
Whatever the age of your property, we can all do a little bit to help save energy and cut bills.
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