One of the easiest ways to save money on your annual bills is to make sure your home is as heat efficient as possible. But you might be wondering exactly how to do that. Well we’ve put together a handy guide for you to follow. You’ll be more heat efficient in no time.

1. Furniture

   Start by moving your sofas. Or your laundry. Why? Because lots of people position their sofas in front of the radiators (or use them to dry their laundry). And while that might make for a cosy place to snuggle in the evenings, it’s actually preventing the hot air from your radiator from circulating properly – which makes the room seem cooler, meaning you’re more likely to turn the heat up unnecessarily.

   Blocking your radiators can prevent the hot air from circulating around your room

   You can also use your curtains in a smart way to conserve heat. Have them wide open during the day to let natural warmth from sunlight flood in then keep them closed at night, with no visible gaps, to help keep that warmth trapped inside your home. You could also consider having thicker curtains during winter months specifically to help with this.

2. Radiator valves

   Thermostatic radiator valves are self-regulating, and help control the flow of hot water to the body of the radiator – and can help reduce energy bills by a staggering 40%³. That’s an upgrade worth investing in.

Never reach further than an arm's length away

3. Timing

   Make sure you’re using the timer function of your central heating. Being smart about when you turn your heating on and off, and what temperature you set it to, can make a real difference to your energy bills. Because the speed at which boilers heat is constant, it actually works out cheaper to turn your heating on a bit earlier in the mornings at a lower temperature.

   Use your central heating timer to turn on the heating at a lower temperature earlier in the morning

   And in general, keeping a slightly lower temperature can mean big savings. Some studies estimate that turning down your heating by as little as 1˚C can equal a saving of up to 10% on your bill¹.

4. Insulation

   An essential part increasing your home’s heat efficiency is making sure your roof is properly insulated. A poorly insulted roof can be responsible for around 25% of the total heat lost from a home². Now you may think insulating your roof is going to be expensive, and it certainly isn’t the cheapest task but you’ll be saving money year on year, potentially as much as £200, and it will all add up in the long run.

   But it isn’t just your roof you should think about insulating. You can also insulate your water tank, to make sure it isn’t losing excess heat. Even just having your existing insulation upgraded can help reduce those energy bills.

5. Draughts

   Another trick to save heat is to block draughts by covering the gap at the bottom of your doors. Draught blockers can be simple to make yourself, or are readily available at most homeware stores.

Finally, you might want to consider upgrading or replacing your boiler. If your boiler is getting old then the chances are it is getting inefficient, and costing you extra each month.