October 19th, 2020 by Amy Varley

As we approach winter, and with a lot of us watching the pennies this year especially, due to furlough and lockdown, you may be wondering the most cost-effective way to keep your home warm when it’s absolutely freezing outside! Here are our top tips for keeping your home warm on a budget.

Radiators

You should only have radiators turned on in rooms that you use. If you have a spare bedroom or another room in the house that you don’t really use, then heating it is of no benefit to anyone. Turn off radiators in these rooms to make sure you are only paying to heat the rooms that you use. You should also ensure you don’t have any large pieces of furniture in front of your radiators, as this can prevent the heat from properly heating up the room. Having a sofa, bed, or unit in front of your radiator means that the heat can’t properly circulate around the room – so moving these items should make a difference, as it shouldn’t take as long for the whole room to warm up.

Thick curtains

Thick blackout curtains act as an extra layer of insulation so are great for keeping the cold out. They also benefit us by keeping the early morning sun out of our bedrooms in Winter so you should be able to sleep right until your alarm goes off!

Sunlight

Use the sunlight to your advantage, by letting as much of it in as possible during the day. By using as much natural (and free!) heat – in the form of sunlight – as you possibly can, you not only save yourself money but also help save the planet! Curtains, blinds and window shades should be left open during the day, and closed as soon as dusk falls to maximise your house’s potential to retain heat.

Rugs

If you have hard floors in your house, they will be really cold to walk on in winter (unless, of course, you’re lucky enough to have underfloor heating) so adding fluffy and thick rugs can make your house feel warmer. Rugs also make rooms feel cosier – giving the illusion the room is warmer than it really is!

Blankets and Throws

Adding thick blankets and throws to your sofa and bed means you can keep warm without spending lots of money on your heating bills. Our MYLEK heated throws have advanced heating elements inside them that heat up quickly and efficiently, and can cost as little as 1p per hour to run! This relaxing heat works together with the indulgently soft fabric to offer one of the cosiest heated throws on the market! And a bonus is that it only heats you up and not the entire room, meaning if you’re in bed or snuggled on the sofa to watch a film, you won’t need to have the heating turned up high! You can use the timer to program your heated throw to turn off after you fall asleep or at any point during the night, and there are also nine heat settings to choose from.

MYLEK Luxury Electric Chocolate Heated Throw

Price: £52.99

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Draughts

Keeping pesky draughts out of your house will make a big difference, no matter how small any gaps are. You can readily buy draught excluders for your doors, and seal up any window gaps with self-adhesive foam strips. Ensuring you have a brush draught excluder inside your letter box will also make sure warm air isn’t escaping from anywhere!

Doors

Keep as many doors in your home closed as possible, this will ensure that warm air doesn’t escape into areas you aren’t in, and similarly, if you have a room that is always cold – this cold air won’t spread into the rest of the house. If you’re in the living room with the heating on, it will be much more efficient if you close the door and keep the warm air concentrated where you are! A tip for keeping the kitchen warm on an evening too, is to leave the oven door open after cooking! This was a brilliant and inexpensive trick we used to keep warm at University!

Electric Panel Heaters

Investing in a smart panel heater is one of the most convenient ways to keep warm at home in winter while keeping your heating bills as low as possible. Our MYLEK Smart App Controlled Electric Panel Heater with 24/7 Timer is an eco-friendly heater that can be controlled from your smartphone – meaning you can monitor and control your heater from anywhere in the world (providing you have an internet connection)! This means you can turn your heater on when you’re on your way home from work and come home to a warm house! Alongside its smart technology, this panel heater also offers an incredibly energy-efficient performance, with a fast-heating element and a seamless aluminium front panel for better heat distribution, this panel heater can keep you warm for just a few pennies per night. It also features a digital thermostat and fully-programmable timer, so you are in complete control of how, when and for how long you use this heater. It can be used as a free-standing heater, with castors for wheeling around, or can be wall-mounted – perfect for any room in the house!

MYLEK App Controlled Smart Electric Panel Heater 1KW

Price: £100.00

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Take a Walk

This may sound like a strange way to keep warm at home, but I always find the house feels TOO warm when I return from an evening dog walk in winter! This could be due to the fact I’ve probably left the heating on too high before I left home… but realistically taking a walk warms you up inside, and makes you really appreciate how warm your house is when you get back. Plus, the fresh cold winter air and brisk walking is great for our health too!