How to keep you and your home warm in winter

Keep you and your home warm and safe this winter. Find out what to do if extreme weather affects your heating. 

1. Keep heat in: energy-efficiency is key!

In the winter, most of us spend more time at home, which means we're using more energy and therefore likely to be spending more money. Take a look at our tips to help you lower your home energy bills, as well as your carbon footprint.

Here're some of our top energy-saving tips to help trap the heat and keep your home cosy: 

• Draught proofing: By blocking gaps you help prevent heat escaping while keeping cold air out. This stops heat loss and keeps your home warm. Simple and cheap methods include rolling up a towel and placing it along the bottom of a door to stop cold air entering, or creating thin rolls of newspaper and jamming them into gaps such as window frames and walls. There are several places you can prevent draughts in the home: did you know, draught-proofing your chimney could save you around £60 a year in GB and £65 in NI?
• Windows: To prevent heat loss, a really simple trick is to use curtains! Closing your curtains as soon as the sun's setting in the evening can reduce heat loss by trapping air between the curtain and window. Make sure your curtains don't cover any radiators, as this can stop the heat from the radiator being fully released into your room. Investing in thermal curtains, attaching thermal liners to your current curtains, or using a roller blind with curtains can all help make a difference to keeping the cold out. Open curtains on sunny winter days to maximise on the sun heating your room!
• Replace old windows: This is a much bigger investment, but if your property's age allows, replacing single, or old double glazed windows with new double or even triple glazed windows will make a noticeable difference to the heat of your home. Consider replacing a window at a time, if your budget doesn't stretch to changing all at the same time.
• Home insulation: Insulation is another great long-term investment. Insulating your property will retain heat in your home and help save you money on energy bills. A typical house with no insulation will lose 33% of heat through walls and 25% through the roof.⁽¹⁾ Find out about different types of home insulation.
• Set a heating timer: If you're out during the day, try setting a heating timer to come on a little before your alarm goes off in the morning and to switch off just before you leave for work. Then set it to switch on in the evening just before you return and switch off before you go to bed. There are many timer options now, including phone apps which let you switch the heating on while you're on your commute!

2. Heat yourself, not the room

If you're feeling cold, even with the heating on, you could try some other ways to warm yourself without turning the thermostat up. 

An electric blanket will typically cost between £25-50 to purchase but cost around 3p an hour of electricity - depending on the energy rating of the blanket. Do read our article: Are electric blankets expensive to run for more information about buying and running costs for electric blankets.

Other methods like foot warmers and hot water bottles are a cheaper and fairly effective heating solution if you're wondering how to keep feet warm in winter months. The bonus is they heat just you, so you don't have to worry about heating the whole house, if you don't want to. 

If you choose to use a hot water bottle, there's a few safety tips to remember: 

• Check the age of your water bottle - their lifespan is about two years. If you're not sure how old it is, check the daisy wheel imprinted on its neck or body. The number in the centre of the circle means the year (for example, ’23’ for 2023). The 12 segments around the number represent months. The filled segments mark its manufacturing month. For instance, if eight segments have dots, it means the bottle was manufactured in August
• Use hot water not boiling
• To reduce the risk of it bursting, don't fill all the way to the top
• Remove excess air before closing it to help prevent injuries due to escaping hot air
• Make sure the topper is screwed in tightly
• Don't put the bottle directly on to your skin - wrap it in a cloth or towel
• Try not to take them to bed if you can avoid it
• Don’t use a hot water bottle with an electric blanket
• Regularly inspect for wear and tear.
• Babies should never be given hot water bottles, wheat bags, or electric blankets.

Layering up with thermal base layers, which shouldn't cost more than about £10, can also be a cost-effective way of keeping warm. 

Hot food and drinks - it may sound obvious, but warm foods such as soup and hot drinks like teas or squashes can help you keep warm from the inside out on cold days, and also support your immune system during winter months.

Move it! If you work from home or find yourself sat for periods of time, you can really start to feel chilly. Getting up and walking around your home, doing housework or even a spot of impromptu dancing will get the blood flowing to feel warmer again!

Accessorise!  Fingerless gloves work well if your hands get cold easily - you can also type in them! Hand warmers are another easy way to warm cold hands. Bed socks are a great solution for people who feel chilly during the night and investing in winter bedding such a brushed cotton or fleece duvet sets and sheets can help trap heat in your bed during the night.

3. Check your pipes

If you notice a bad smell from the tap or a drain, or if there’s not enough water coming from the tap, your pipes could be frozen. There are many ways you can prevent frozen pipes. If an exposed pipe is frozen, try warming the pipe gently to help it thaw. If you don’t feel confident doing this, it's best to call a qualified plumber.

4. Look after your boiler

You should get your boiler serviced regularly by a Gas Safety registered engineer. This way, it’ll be in tip-top condition by the time winter comes around. If you do get a problem with your boiler, you may be able to fix it easily without calling out an engineer. Read our blog about 10 common boiler problems and how to fix them yourself.

5. Bleed your radiators

If your radiators don't feel warm to the touch, it may be that they need bleeding. You can follow our guide to bleed the radiators yourself, or you can ask a qualified plumber to do it for you. This will mean your central heating system is running more efficiently.

6. Know what to do if there's a power cut

You can phone 105 if you have a power cut due to bad weather or another reason beyond your control. This number is free to call, and you’ll be put through to your local network operator, who can give you help and advice. Check our gas and electricity emergency numbers to help you prepare for a power cut or winter storm outage.

7. Keep your prepayment meter in credit if you can

Do you have a prepayment meter or a smart Pay As You Go meter? Try to top up your credit with a little extra during winter if you can. With a smart Pay As You Go meter, you can top up without leaving the house and set up automatic top-ups with our mobile app. And, if you're not sure you're on the right energy tariff for your home, it's always a good idea to get a new gas or electricity quote. 

8. Check if you can get support with heating bills

The government has a range of cost of living support to help support with bills. 

Help for pensioners: If you were born before 22 September 1959 in England and Wales, you might be entitled to the government's Winter Fuel Payment. This means you could get help with your heating bills. Most people get their Winter Fuel Payment automatically if they're eligible.

If it’s zero degrees Celsius (or below) for seven days in a row where you live, you may be able to get a Cold Weather Payment, too.

You can also get extra support from our Priority Services Register. 

9. Check if your energy provider has any offers which can help you

Whether we’re helping customers earn free electricity, making energy easier to understand with our price cap predictions, offering tariffs that use electricity when its cheapest, and low-carbon products fitted by Which? trusted installers; we want energy to work for you – for the long-term. And with our ongoing improvements in customer service and commitment to helping build Britain’s zero-carbon future, we’re here to support you—not just today, but for years to come. 

That's why our latest offers also include the chance to win a year's worth of free energy! We also offer energy discounts to a range of key workers, military personnel and disabled people. For example, we've partnered with Purpl Disabled Discounts to offer Purpl members exclusive gift cards when they switch tariff or join us. These are available to EDF customers and new-joiners!