With energy bills at record levels, conserving heating at home has never been more important.
Yet with winter coming up, many people are still living in inefficient homes which leak heat and lead to much higher energy costs.
If you’re looking for ways to save on energy and costs this winter, here are the four main reasons your home might be leaking heat – and how to address the problem.
Why is an inefficient home a problem?
Living in a home with low energy efficiency means that your house either fails to heat up properly, or leaks heat easily.
This means that your house is likely to be colder during the winter months, and will require a large amount of energy to heat and keep warm.
Luckily, there are a number of actions you can take to improve the situation.
Boilers
The first place to look for the source of your heating woes is your boiler.
Newer boiler systems are more efficient than an older boilers and heating system, meaning that older boilers will give out less heat output for the same amount of energy, costing you more on heating bills due to heating your home for longer.
This means an older boiler will leave you paying a much higher energy bill for the same temperature output as a newer boiler would provide.
If you have the means to do so, you should think about replacing your boiler. The government has grants available for installation of low-carbon heating systems which can help towards the cost.
Insulation
Another key source of inefficiency in the home is a lack of proper insulation.
If your home doesn’t have insulation in the walls or roof, heat will leak out much faster, meaning more energy is required to keep the house warm.
You may also be able to get financial support for insulating your home, and can find out what’s available using the government’s online tool.
Draughts and air leaks
Heat doesn’t just escape through walls and roofs. Old seals around windows and doors can also allow air to leak in and out of your home.
This again means that any heating you do put on will escape quickly, leading to higher energy bills in turn.
As such, you should think about replacing the seals around your windows and doors to fix this.
Older properties
In general, older properties are much more likely to be energy inefficient than newer homes.
This is due to energy efficiency not being factored into the construction of many older buildings.
One way you can fix poor energy efficiency in an older property is to have it evaluated. This evaluation will produce a range of recommendations on how to improve its heating capabilities.
With just a few changes to your home, you’ll be able to bring your energy bills tumbling down.
