Protect your home.. and bank balance
Weather-proofing your house will keep it in great condition, reduce energy bills and save cash, says Angela Hammond
Summer is nearly here so there’s never been a better time to weather-proof your home for when the winter returns. These improvements will also help you reduce energy bills, saving you hundreds of pounds in the long run. Here are some of the best ways to get your house in tip-top shape. 1 Draught-proof your home Inside your home the roof should be well insulated and, according to The Energy Saving Trust, you can lose about 25 per cent of heat through an uninsulated roof. So spending a weekend insulating the loft will help you save on energy bills and keep your house warm. A local tradesperson can do it for you. Block up any gaps surrounding windows, doors and chimneys too. 2 Your roof is a very important part of the overall structure of the house and it is essential that this is kept in good order. Your roof must be watertight so get a qualified roofing inspector to take a look at it every five years or so, just to make sure no tiles have slipped and there’s no moss growing on it. 3 When was the last time you cleared the gutters? Blocked gutters and drains cause water to overflow so have a good clear-out of leaves and debris. 4 Invest in some pipe lagging Most homes in the UK have a complex network of water pipes. Insulating this pipework is called lagging and, by sealing in heat, it keeps the water inside your pipes hotter for longer and protects against the cold. It also makes your heating and hot water much more efficient. The Energy Saving Trust says fitting your hot water cylinder with an insulating jacket will save you £20 a year in heating costs and 150kg of carbon dioxide emissions. 5 Insulate your garage One area of your home you may not have considered insulating is your garage. If the garage is an integrated part of your house, you could be losing as much as 25 per cent of your home’s heat through it. 6 Damp properties cause misery for households. Figures from a survey showed four per cent of the estimated 23million households in England had rising damp or other damp problems in at least one room of their home. If you have rain water getting in, or any internal leaks or signs of rising damp, then it’s really important to get the problem sorted out quickly. You’ll usually need a professional to come in and advise you. 7 Wooden floors might look pristine but they can also let heat escape right under your
Check the roof Clear your gutters Tackle damp Roll out a rug
feet. Placing a warm rug down on your floors covers any gaps and makes sure your feet stay warm. 8 Invest in a new boiler Heat generation for most homes will be a traditional central heating system, usually via a gas-fired boiler. How old is your boiler and has it been regularly serviced? If your boiler is more than 10 years old, it might be time to replace it. Modern boilers are more efficient at keeping your home warm and your bills down. In fact, new boilers can be up to 24 per cent more efficient than a 20-year-old boiler and 14 per cent more efficient than a 15-year-old boiler – so the investment could save you money in the long run. 9 Bleed your radiators If your radiators are only hot at the bottom, this could be why. Bleeding your radiators is a really important thing to do as air can build up over time in your central heating pipes. To check, turn the heating on for a while and see if your radiators are hot from top to bottom. If they’re not, get the radiator key out and bleed them. It’s easy to do – just twist the bleed valve until you hear the air rushing out. 10 Shop around for the best energy deal This is where a better understanding of the benefits to be gained from switching and saving comes in. You can shop around yourself or you can cut through the jargon by using one of the many handy energy-switching awareness services for your gas or electricity supply, or both.
For example, Uswitch is the UK’s most popular energy comparison site and offers you a simple and fast way to make great savings quickly, with no interruption to your supply.
Uswitch has helped more than 5million people compare energy prices and save on their bills. Its free energy comparison site has been fully accredited by the Ofgem Confidence Code since 2006.