Cavity wall insulation

Around a third of all heat lost in un insulated homes is lost through the walls, and installing cavity wall insulation is one of the most effective ways of reducing your heating bills by around £90 per year. In most houses built after the 1920’s, external walls were built with two layers of brick with an air cavity between them. Filling this cavity with an insulating material decreases the amount of heat, which escapes, and in a hot summer, can keep your home cooler. Cavity wall insulation is easy and clean to install. It’s injected into the cavity from outside the house, and will take between three to five hours to install in a typical semi, at a cost of around £500. You can find a registered installer by getting in touch with the National Insulation Association, or call your local energy Savings Trust advice Centre on 0800 512 012 for free advice on saving energy in your home.

Insulate your loft

Poorly insulated roofs can let the cold in, and expensive heating out. Insulating material can be bought in rolls from most DIY stores, and is easy to lay between the joists of your loft floor. The new recommended level of thickness for insulation is 270mm, and because the material contains recycled glass, it’s important to wear protective nose and face masks, and thick protective gloves. You can also buy cylinder jackets to insulate cold and hot water tanks and felt lagging for pipes.

Turn your heating thermostat down

Turning down your thermostat by just a couple of degrees can save a huge amount of your heating bills, and if you put on an extra sweater, you’ll hardly notice the difference. Set your thermostat to a lower temperature when you’re out of the house, and at night.

Draw your curtains

Curtains provide very effective insulation for windows, and during the winter, it’s a good idea to draw then across as soon as it becomes dark, even in rooms, which are not being used.

Check your boiler

If your gas boiler is very old, it may be also be inefficient. Make sure it’s working as efficiently as possible by getting it serviced by a registered heating engineer. This could save you from having to call out an emergency service if it breaks down, just when you need it most during a cold snap.

Turn off radiators in rooms that are not used. If you have bedrooms that are not in use, turn down the thermostats on radiators, and keep the doors closed.

Switch to cool water washing

There are lots of detergents available these days, which will produce brilliant results without the need for high water temperatures. It’s also worth investigating energy efficient labels when shopping for a new dishwasher or washing machine. Look for the Energy Saving Recommended logo. If you see this on a product, you can be sure it meets strict criteria on energy efficiency.

Take a shower instead of a bath

A shower is more refreshing than a bath, and uses much less water and electricity.

Replace your light bulbs with fluorescent light bulbs.

These energy efficient light bulbs use two thirds less energy, and last up to ten times longer.

Cook efficiently

Use long slow cookers for casseroles, and if you’re using your oven, try to plan your menus so that the whole oven space is being used. Roasting vegetables with your meat, and preparing a pie or egg custard for pudding means that you’ve utilised the heat of the oven for the whole meal.

Don’t fill your kettle for a single cup of coffee

If you’re making a single cup of instant coffee, heat just a cupful of water, although you should check that the electric element in the kettle is covered.

And finally...

Although energy saving is important, it’s vital to remember that elderly people, or those who are unable to move around, are particularly vulnerable to hypothermia. If the home is too cold, or they have a poor appetite, they are not be active enough to generate their own body heat, but may not notice that their body temperature has fallen. This is when hypothermia sets in. For the elderly, their bedroom and sitting room should be warm enough to be able to relax in comfort, without feeling chilled.

By Sheila Alcock.