How to keep warm at home
It’s important to keep warm, especially in the winter months. There are lots of easy ways to keep your home and yourself warm without increasing your energy use. We’ve put together a few suggestions to help.
Wear the right clothing
Wrap up warmly when it’s cold
Several layers of thin clothing is better than one thick layer
If you can, try and move around. Any activity will help circulation
Wear the right clothing to bed and add extra blankets
Insulating and draught-proofing
There are a few low-cost things you can do to keep your home warm:
Draught-proofing strips are easy to fit and will help prevent heat loss.
Secondary glazing panels can help prevent heat escaping.
Double glazing prevents heat loss from your windows, but a thick curtain can also give further insulation by trapping a layer of air. Heavy curtains also work well on external doors.
If you have radiators beneath your windows, make sure the curtains don’t hang in front of them. Ideally, your curtains should only reach just below the windowsill to allow the heat from the radiators into the room.
If the room is too hot, turn down your heating rather than opening a window.
Heating
Make sure your central heating is in good working order by having it checked once a year.
Nobody likes waking up in a cold house. You could try setting the timer on your central heating to come on half an hour before you get up. But only use the heating when you need it.
Don’t let the temperature drop below 16C (61F). We recommend a room temperature of 18C (65F) if you’re active and 21C (70F) if you’re less mobile. You can use our warmth without worry thermometer to check your room temperature.
Find out more
We can give you advice on financial help and loft and wall insulation for your home. We also provide energy efficiency advice.
The Government offers help through winter fuel payments and advice through the Keep Warm, Keep Well campaign. They provide advice and support as to what financial help is available and how to keep healthy and safe during the colder months.
Help The Aged also provide helpful advice and a free ‘3 Steps to a Warmer Winter’ pack.
