As we’re in the run up to Winter, it’s time for us to start preparing our home for the cold. With the energy price caps set to rise once again, it has never been more important for you to ensure that your home is properly set up to help keep the cold outside and heat inside.

To get some practical advice for what you can do around your home this year in preparation for winter, we spoke to local homeware retailer DotcomBlinds to get their expert advice for how you can make your home as efficient as possible to keep your utility bills in check this winter, without having to break any piggy banks.

Insulate Your Windows

The biggest tip DotcomBlinds gave us was that insulating your home’s windows should be a priority, especially if you have old style single glazed windows. This is because windows are prime areas for heat loss in the home and can help let cold air into your home, which isn’t ideal if you’re trying to keep your home warm.

The DotcomBlinds team recommend that you look into purchasing some thick insulating thermal window blinds for your home, especially in the rooms you spend the most time in. These thermal blinds will help insulate your windows and act as a shield, keeping heat inside your home and helping to minimise the amount of cold air entering your home through your windows. All of this means that your home will be warmer and more heat efficient when you need to turn your heating on.

Use Energy Efficient Lightbulbs

During the Winter, the days get shorter and we get less natural light throughout the day which means you’ll need to use your home’s lights a lot more than you would in the Summertime. With the increases usage of lighting in your home, you’ll find that you’ll be using a lot more electricity in the Winter than you would in the Summer to keep your home well lit.

With the increased usage that your lighting will have in the Winter, it is imperative that you use the most energy efficient lightbulbs you can get your hands on. Hyper efficient bulbs like modern LED lightbulbs will use a lot less energy to produce light than most other types of lightbulbs, which will help you use less power to keep your home lit. As an added bonus to these modern LED lightbulbs, they also have a much longer lifespan than other bulbs, meaning they cost less to run and need to be replaced far less often.

Paint Your Radiator

This tip may sound a bit ‘out-there’ but there’s science to show that painting your radiator could make it more efficient. Most radiators are made with a white finish. While the classic look of a white radiator does look quite nice, the colour white is the most reflective colour and not at all good at holding in heat, meaning white radiators don’t stay warm for as long as they could once you’ve turned your heating off.

So, the DotcomBlinds team recommend painting the radiators in your home, with a colour that is better at retaining heat. Really any colour other than white will do a better job at staying warm for longer, but dark colours are the best for retaining heat, so painting your radiator in a darker colour will result in it having better heat retention, which will allow you to have your heating on for shorter periods of time to heat your home.