How to improve your heating efficiency this winter

on | 4 min read
‘When do you switch your heating on?’ It’s a question that seems to rear its head every autumn, with the beginning of October being a common (but by no means definitive) answer. Whether you usually switch on your heating as early as September or try to hold out till late November, however, the colder seasons often still mean an increase in costs due to heating our homes.
women sat holding mugs leant back on a sofa

Inefficiencies in our heating methods, or our homes themselves, can all have an impact on both our comfort and our pockets, so it’s worth taking some time as the weather gets colder to improve your home heating efficiency.
There are a number of things you can do, and we highlighted a few here:

Sealing gaps

Air leakage (warm air escaping through gaps or cracks) typically makes up around 15% of heat loss in a UK home. Draught-proofing and sealing gaps can be a quick and relatively cheap way to reduce heat loss, make your heating more efficient and therefore saving you money.  Adding or replacing brushes on doors and seals on windows is often something you can do yourself, and you can find the necessary kits and components in most hardware shops.

woman sealing drafty window gaps

Insulate your home

Ensuring your home is well insulated is another step to improving efficiency.  Installing loft and cavity-wall insulation can significantly reduce heat loss from your home, making your heating last longer and benefiting both your comfort and your pocket.  Whilst the upfront cost may be a concern in current times, there are a number of government grants available in both the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, to help you fund making your home more energy efficient.

home insulation being installed in a wall by a pair of gloved hands

Upgrade or service your heating system

Whatever fuel type you use for your home heating, innovation and improvements mean that modern solutions are significantly more effective than older systems, so it may be worth investigating to see if you can upgrade to new, more efficient products.  If upgrading isn’t feasible, however, it is important to carry out visual maintenance checks on your heating products, and servicing where appropriate, to make sure your heating solution is working at its best this winter.

Use your heating effectively

Making use of smart thermostats and heating programs can help ensure you’re making your home comfortable when you need to but aren’t heating an empty house.  During these times where working from home is becoming more of the norm, we may find parts of our homes are occupied for more of the day.  Rather than just heating the whole house for longer, however, a more efficient option may be focus on heating only the rooms you are using, e.g., your working from home space.

Targeted heating

This strategic room heating is where investing in a portable heater may be the ideal answer; you can move it from room to room with you to provide localised heating only when you need it.  There are a number of efficient and effective products on the market, and these are some of our most efficient portable heaters:

 

Dimplex Maxair Ceramic hot and cold fan in living room

Style and comfort at your fingertips - Our Studio G ceramic heater is a stylish, speaker-style tower heater that provides unobtrusive comfort.  The digital thermostat allows the Studio G to maintain temperature accurately and efficiently and the heater oscillates to evenly spread the warmth around the room.

Heating with year-round applications - Efficient and programmable, our MaxAir hot and cold ceramic fan is an investment for the whole year.  It features and intelligent Eco heating mode, adjusting the level to most efficiently heat the room and keep you warm and comfortable through the winter, then once the summer returns the MaxAir’s cooling mode will keep comfort in easy reach.

Keep workshops warm - Workshops and garages can make for uncomfortable workspaces as the depths of winter rolls round.  However, a product like our rugged fan heater can provided localised warmth so that whilst the winter is biting outside you can still work in comfort.