What are the Best Ways to Keep Your House Warm in Winter?
As winter approaches and temperatures drop, keeping your home warm and cosy becomes a priority. Very few of us want to live in a cold house, and when the British weather does its worst it can be tempting just to turn the thermostat up to maximum. There are many different reasons why your house might be cold, and if you don’t want to be wasting money on fuel, tackle the underlying causes of the coldness before automatically reaching for the heating control panel.
Ensuring your home is well-insulated is key to maintaining a comfortable indoor environment and can lead to significant energy savings. There are several ways to keep your property toasty throughout the Winter months. Proper insulation traps heat inside, reduces drafts, and minimizes energy costs. In this guide, we’ll explore practical steps to insulate your home effectively and keep it warm all winter long.
How to Insulate Your Home and Stay Warm in Winter
Dealing with Draughts
Draughts can lower the temperature in the house significantly, and if you’ve gaps under doors or around windows which are letting icy cold winds whistle through the house, then there’s lots you can do to block them out and keep things warmer. One of the best methods of blocking out door draughts is with the traditional sausage dog draught excluder. These are widely available in high street stores, or you can make your own with some fabric sewn into a tube and stuffed with old clothes, socks, bedding or towels. Foam strips are sold in DIY stores and can be stuck around window frames to plug gaps. Look around your home with a critical eye – identify the weak spots where draughts might be getting in, and search for ways of stopping them.
Insulate Your Home
Understanding Insulation and Heat Loss
Heat naturally moves from warmer areas to cooler ones, meaning that any uninsulated or poorly insulated areas in your home will allow heat to escape. Common areas where heat escapes include:
- Walls
- Roof and attic
- Floors
- Windows and doors
- Gaps and cracks
By addressing each of these areas, you can significantly reduce heat loss and make your home more energy-efficient.
Why insulate your home?
Insulation is one of the best ways of stopping the heat escaping out of your home. If your home has cavity walls which haven’t been insulated, this alone could save you £160 per year off your heating bills. If you’re on a low income, there are grants available which will help meet the cost of getting this done so speak to your energy supplier. Loft insulation is an easy DIY project, with large rolls widely available. Simply lay the loft insulation between the joists, or under the floor of the loft if boarded. A minimum thickness of 25cm is recommended, but even thinner insulation is better than none.
Insulation is all about reducing the amount of heat which is lost through the walls, ceiling, floor and windows of your house. A house which is well insulated will stay warmer for longer, allowing you to reduce the time you have the boiler switched on, or turn the thermostat down by a degree or two. Think of it as wrapping your house in a thick duvet. If you’re able to keep your house from losing as much heat, you can slash the amount you’re spending on keeping it warm in the first place. Paying for insulation does require some upfront investment, but the reduced fuel bills can mean that within a few years your insulation has paid for itself. There are a few different options for insulating your house, some of which are easier and cheaper than others.
Types of Insulation For Your Home
Wall Insulation
Walls can account for up to 35% of heat loss in a home, especially in older buildings. Here are some options for insulating different types of walls:
Cavity Wall Insulation
The type of insulation which can make the most difference and save you the most money is cavity wall insulation. Houses built from around 1920 onwards typically have cavity walls, which means there is both an inner and outer wall, separated by an empty cavity. Cavity wall insulation fills the gap between the two layers of wall. There are various ways of getting this done, and it’s not really a DIY job. A contractor will drill lots of little holes all over the outside of your home, fill the gap between the two layers of wall with an expanding insulating foam or other material, then fill the drill holes. Insulating the cavity walls on your average three bedroom-semi will take just a few hours. You can expect to pay around £500 for the work to be done, and the substantial cost savings on your fuel bill means that cavity wall insulation can pay for itself in about four years. If you are on a low income, ask your energy supplier whether you qualify for a subsidy on cavity wall insulation through the Energy Company Obligation.
Solid Wall Insulation
If your home was built before the First World War, you are unlikely to have cavity walls, and your insulation is trickier to install. Around a third of homes in the UK do not have cavity walls. Solid wall insulation involves putting an extra layer of insulation around the walls of your home, either inside or out via two main methods;
Internal Wall Insulation
This involves adding insulation boards or stud walls to the inside of the walls, which reduces heat loss but may reduce room space slightly. Internally, insulating boards are fitted on top of the existing plaster. This can be disruptive as it means you have to move sockets and radiators.
External Wall Insulation
External insulation involves attaching a layer of insulation to the exterior of the building, which is then covered with cladding or render. Although this is more expensive, it can be very effective and doesn’t impact interior space. Externally, the insulating panels are fixed all over the outside of your home, and then covered with render.
Solid wall external insulation can cost anything between £10,000 and £20,000 and with cost savings of between £200 and £300 a year on your energy bills, it takes longer to pay for itself.
Insulating Your Roof and Attic
Your roof and attic can account for up to 25% of a home’s heat loss, so ensuring these areas are well-insulated should be a top priority. Here are some ways to insulate your roof and attic effectively:
Loft Insulation
If you’ve already had cavity walls insulated, the next area where the largest savings can be made is in the loft. Loft insulation is fairly cheap to buy and can be installed by the homeowner. Depending on the size of property and the type of insulation you choose, loft insulation could pay for itself in about 2 or 3 years. The minimum thickness recommended of loft insulation is 270mm, but any amount is better than nothing. You can insulate your loft with mineral wool rolls, thermal boards or a combination of both to reach the suggested minimum levels. If your loft is boarded and you don’t want the disruption of ripping up flooring to install insulation, then another option is to instead apply the insulation boards to the underside of the roof. This might take a bit more cutting and DIY skills, but has the added benefit of making your loft room warmer too.
Seal Attic Air Leaks
Check for any air leaks or gaps around pipes, chimneys, or vents in the attic and seal them with expanding foam or caulk. This prevents warm air from escaping and cold air from entering.
Consider Roof Insulation
If you’re planning major renovations, you might consider adding insulation directly under the roof (often called “warm loft” insulation). This method can be more expensive but is very effective and can increase usable attic space.
Floor Insulation
Floors, particularly in older homes, can be a significant source of heat loss. Insulating floors not only helps with heat retention but also makes rooms feel warmer underfoot. Here are some tips for different floor types:
Suspended Floors
The easiest type of floor to insulate is the suspended floor, where floorboards are placed on joists. The spaces between the joists can be insulated to prevent cold air circulating, but this is easiest done from below. If you don’t have a crawl space under your ground floor, then it’s probably wait until you’re replacing the floor or taking floorboards up for another reason and put the insulation in then.
Concrete Floors
If you have another type of flooring such as a concrete or tiled floor, the best way to insulate is to put boards on top of the existing surface before putting a new floor on top.
Rooms over a Garage
For rooms over a garage, the floor can be insulated by putting boards on the garage ceiling. If the ground floor of your house is insulated, it’s usually not necessary to insulate the other floors too.
Draughts Coming Through Floorboards
If the issue is draughts coming up through floorboards, then you can buy expanding foam and filler to place into the gaps.
Rugs and Carpeting
If full floor insulation isn’t feasible, placing thick rugs or carpets over floors can provide a layer of insulation and make your home feel warmer.
Insulating Windows and Doors
Sealing Windows and Doors
Windows and doors are common sources of heat loss, so improving their insulation can make a noticeable difference.
Deal with draughts by using sticky foam strips to seal around the edges of the windows. If your doors rattle and cause draughts, then hanging a heavy curtain on the back of the door can help, as can putting a draught excluder along the base of the door. Seal up other gaps too; cat flaps and letterboxes are often forgotten.
Draught-Proofing Windows
Apply weatherstripping or adhesive foam strips around window frames to block out cold air. For sash windows, consider using brush strips that fill gaps without preventing the windows from operating.
Draught-Proof Doors
Install a draught excluder or brush strip on the bottom of exterior doors to prevent drafts. Make sure the frame around the door is well-sealed, and consider adding an insulating layer on any internal doors that lead to unheated areas, like garages or basements.
Double or Triple Glazing
Single-pane windows are poor insulators, so upgrading to double or triple glazing can significantly reduce heat loss. If replacement isn’t an option, you can also consider secondary glazing by adding an additional pane or plastic film to your existing windows. Double glazing is the best way of insulating your windows and stopping heat escaping through the glass. It’s not a cheap option though, with double glazed units costing on average £500 to £1000 per window. You can expect to save around £110 every year from your heating bills with double glazed units. If you cannot afford to replace your windows, or if you are in a rented property and your landlord is reluctant to do the work, then there are still things you can do.
Heavy Curtains or Thermal Blinds
Adding thick, lined curtains or thermal blinds can help insulate windows, especially at night. Close them as soon as it gets dark to retain as much heat as possible. Thick curtains or adding thermal linings to the back of existing curtains will help stop heat loss. It doesn’t matter what these curtains look like, as you can hang another pair in front of them. Transparent insulating film can be stuck to your windows very cheaply which will help with heat loss and draughts.
Addressing Gaps and Cracks
Small gaps and cracks around windows, doors, and other parts of your home can let in cold air and allow warm air to escape. To seal these gaps:
- Use Caulk and Expanding Foam: Apply caulk or weatherstripping to any visible cracks around windows, doors, and skirting boards. Expanding foam is also useful for larger gaps around pipes and wiring.
- Install a Chimney Balloon: If you have an unused chimney, consider inserting a chimney balloon or draught excluder to prevent warm air from escaping up the flue.
- Seal Floorboard Gaps: In older homes, gaps between floorboards can cause drafts. You can seal these with flexible filler or special gap tapes designed for floorboards.
Sort Your Radiators Out
One common reason that your home might be feeling cold is that the radiators aren’t performing as they should. If you put your hand to your radiator it should feel a uniform temperature across the full height. If it feels cooler at the top than it does at the bottom, air may be accumulating at the top of the radiator. This is resolved by “bleeding” the radiators with a special key to let the air out and then refilling the system with water. If your radiators are warm at the bottom but cold at the bottom, they may have started to fill up with sludge. This can be resolved by flushing the radiators through to remove the sludge. Think about where you’ve placed your furniture in relation to the radiators in the room and rearrange accordingly – there’s no point in heating the back of the sofa by placing it directly in front of a radiator and blocking the heat from circulating through the rest of the room.
Dealing With Bare Floorboards
The bare wooden floorboard look might be hugely fashionable, but uncovered floorboards, especially in older houses, can lead to a huge amount of heat being lost through the floor. Carpeting the floor will help, but if you don’t want to carpet the whole room then a thick rug or rugs will help block the gaps between the boards. If you have very obvious gaps between floorboards, then you can buy commercial filler products which come in tubes and can be squeezed into the gaps, expanding to fill the space available. The same sort of filler can also be used to fill in any gaps between the floor and skirting boards.
Block out the Cold With Thick Curtains
Double glazing is one of the most effective ways of making your house warmer and cutting down on your fuel bills too. Experts estimate you could shave around £120 per year off your heating bill if you replaced all single glazed units with double glazing. If you are not in the position to replace the windows in your home, or if you are living in rented accommodation, there are other things you can do to stop the heat escaping out of the window. Thick, heavy curtains can insulate a window, or add thermal linings to your existing curtains to stem the heat loss. Close curtains when it gets dark, but if it’s a bright sunny day don’t forget to open them again in the morning as the heat from the sunlight will help warm the house too.
Block Up the Chimney
Not many of us have a coal fire any more, but thousands of us are living in a home with a fireplace, purely used for decorative purposes. If you have one of these fireplaces, you’re probably stuffing newspaper or similar up the chimney to try to keep the draughts out, but there are more efficient ways. For around £20 you can buy a clever product called a chimney balloon which is placed inside the chimney just high enough to be out of sight and then inflated to provide a complete seal. It’s a minimal investment which could instantly make your room seem warmer. Other products for insulating chimneys are also available, but if you’re intending using the fireplace at any point in the future to light a fire, bear this in mind when shopping.
Heating and Ventilation
Once you’ve insulated your home, it’s important to maintain efficient heating and ventilation. Here are some tips:
Invest in Central Heating Timers and Thermostatic Radiator Valves
Having timers on your central heating system gives you a greater degree of control over when the heating comes on and at which temperature. The house will seem warmer if you set it to come on at 20C half an hour before you get up than getting up in the cold and then immediately setting the heating to maximum. Thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs) allow you to control the heating on each individual radiator rather than having to choose between having the radiators on everywhere full blast, or not on at all. It makes sense to have a slightly lower temperature in hallways or bathrooms, and keep things at a higher temperature in living areas.
Use Radiator Reflectors
Place radiator reflectors or foil behind radiators on exterior walls to direct heat back into the room. This is an inexpensive and effective way to retain warmth.
Ventilate Carefully
Good ventilation prevents moisture build-up, which can lead to dampness and mold. Open windows briefly each day to allow fresh air in without losing too much heat.
Energy-Efficient Solutions and Government Grants
In many regions, governments and energy companies offer grants and rebates to help homeowners make energy-efficient improvements, such as cavity wall insulation, loft insulation, and even new energy-efficient windows. Investigate these options, as they can reduce the overall cost of insulation upgrades.
DIY or Professional Installation
While some insulation projects, such as adding draft-proofing strips or caulking windows, are easy DIY tasks, others, like cavity wall insulation or external wall insulation, may require professional installation. When in doubt, consult with a local insulation specialist who can assess your home’s needs and recommend the best solutions.
Additional Tips to Stay Warm
Beyond insulation, there are simple ways to stay warmer in winter:
- Layer Up: Wear warm clothing and use blankets to stay cozy without over-relying on heating.
- Warm Bedding: Consider investing in winter bedding, such as flannel sheets and heavy duvets.
- Hot Water Bottles and Heated Blankets: These are inexpensive ways to stay warm without heating the entire room.
- Close Doors to Unused Rooms: By keeping doors closed to rooms you’re not using, you can focus heat on the areas where it’s needed most.
Conclusion
Insulating your home for winter is one of the most effective ways to stay warm, reduce energy costs, and minimize your environmental footprint. By focusing on insulating your roof, walls, floors, windows, and doors, you can make a significant difference in how your home retains heat. With the right combination of insulation, heating, and some simple lifestyle adjustments, you’ll be able to enjoy a warm and comfortable winter season.
