Climate change means that weather is more unpredictable than ever, but we can still be fairly certain that winter will, at some point, bring some cold spells. For many reasons, including Covid, global politics and Brexit, gas and electric prices have been rising considerably and these may increase exponentially again, in the coming months. So it’s now more important than ever to find cheap ways to keep yourself warm during winter, especially if you’ll be spending more time working from home. 

Here are our top tips on keeping yourself warm for less this winter: 

Install a Smart Meter: 

A smart meter will help to track how much you are spending on heating. Contact your gas and electricity supplier and they should come and install one for you, free of charge.

With a smart meter, there is no need to submit readings. The meter will track your exact usage and what the electricity and gas you are using is costing. There is even the potential to check what individual appliances are costing to run and keep track of the exact amount of money you are spending on each. A smart meter may even help you to spot a faulty appliance, that is wasting electricity.

Having accurate information on what you are using will allow you to budget more effectively, with hopefully no unexpected costs at the end of the month. However, it needs to be remembered that smart meters will not reduce bills by themselves. They are merely a tool to help you budget.

Also remember that there is a lot of volitivity in the energy supply market at the moment, with suppliers going out of business on a regular basis. Keep this in mind and double check before you get your smart meter installed.

Set timers to your heating. 

Most systems allow you to set specific times for your heating being turned on and off automatically. Even if you are working from home you often don’t need heating to be on all day. Careful setting of a system can help to cut down on how much you’re spending whilst still keeping the house warm when needed.

 

Good times to have the heating on would be, perhaps, half an hour before you get up, or to warm the house for when you get back from work. Even if you’re working from home, it might be useful to set the heating to start for when you finish work, ready for when you’re relaxing at night when it gets colder. 

Layer Up 

The cheapest way to stay warm is to layer up. Wear a cosy jumper in the house, or a dressing gown, or even both if it’s a particularly cold day. The basic idea is that if you are feeling cold, just add a layer.

It’s important to keep your hands and feet warm as they are places you can potentially lose a lot of body heat. Time to whip out those thick, fluffy socks from the wardrobe. You can also invest in a warm blanket for when you’re lounging around or trying to sleep; it’ll keep you nice and toasty without having the break the bank and blankets can be used as nice decoration as well.