We all know and expect that as winter approaches, our electricity bills start creeping upwards because of all the extra things we need such as heat, and because it gets darker earlier, we all have our lights on longer. However, sometimes it can get to the point where you are paying such a high amount that it becomes unaffordable. So, in this article, let’s look at how to save electricity this winter.

Doors & Weather Stripping

The first thing that you should consider is keeping all of your doors closed. This might sound obvious, but if you leave the doors open, all the warm air in the room will leave and be spread around the house. This will make everything colder, and you will feel the need to turn the heating on.

If you have gaps under your door, you need to find a way to fill them while you are in a room. So, what you can do is put a blanket on your side of the door to keep the warm air in. If you are going to leave a room and you want to keep it warm, consider putting this on the outside so that when you go back in, the room will still be the way you left it.

When it comes to your front and back doors, it is worth running your hand around the edges to feel if any cold air is coming in from outside of your property. If so, then you may want to consider fitting weather stripping. See our guide on how to install weather stripping for more information.

Thermal Curtains

It is going to be important that you have good quality thick curtains throughout the winter months. Even if you have double or triple glazing, it is not going to do you any harm to make sure that you have thermal curtains.

These will keep the heat in the room and stop any cold coming in through the windows. If you already have thin curtains, then you will immediately notice a difference by upgrading to thermal curtains.

The result of upgrading means that you won’t have to have your heating on as often, or as high, helping to keep your electric costs down.

Energy-Saving Light Bulbs

The most obvious thing that you can do to save on your energy bills this winter is to buy energy-saving light bulbs. You can get these at most home and hardware stores, so they are not hard to find.

Some energy-saving light bulbs can be more expensive than a standard bulb. However, if you switch the majority of your light bulbs, you will notice a rather significant difference on your next electricity bill which will make the initial extra spend worth it.

They don’t provide any less light than the standard bulbs, but they do use less energy to power them. They are also well known for having a much longer life than standard bulbs, so you will see the savings year on year.

Candles

Candles have long been used to provide light before there was electricity. Other than the cost of buying the candles, which is not a lot, and getting a lighter or some matches, it doesn’t cost anything to use candles instead of your main lights.

Using candles is not just a great way to save energy this winter, but it is also very calming and makes your home feel cosy. If you buy scented candles, then your whole house will have a delightful smell when they are lit too.

Further Advice

We hope that you have found this advice useful and will consider using some of these energy saving ideas this winter. You may also find these article of interest, which gives other hints and tips on how to reduce your energy bills:

https://cosyhomeswindows.com/save-money-replacement-double-glazed-units
https://cosyhomeswindows.com/how-does-double-glazing-reduce-heat-loss
https://cosyhomeswindows.com/how-to-save-energy-at-home
https://cosyhomeswindows.com/heat-your-home-for-free-this-winter