How are people keeping the heat in?

lightisfading

shirefairy wrote: »

I found some heat shrink plastic window film in wilkos which was quite reasonable (£5 ish I think) which you stick on with the tape included and then blast it with a hairdryer and it goes tight and prevents draughts. I've used it on a back door which we do not use and it's works well. Problem is we can no longer open the door but as it was disused I'd rather be warm!

we're considering getting some of this for our rented, single-glazed, drafty house, but we're concerned about condensation building up between the window and the plastic. Any ideas if this would happen or if it would be 'safe' for us?

savemoney

We draft proof all external doors. Keep internal doors closed in through lounge so at least one room is warm. Insulate loft hatch sometimes thats forgotten

Curtains make you feel warmer and if your still could sometime wearing a dressing gown helps keep warm, wwe have several of those thick towel type dressing gowns.

Ytaya

I found that investing in thermal curtain liners paid for itself in the first winter I had them! It cost me about £65 to get liners for my flat (4 windows), and they easily saved me £100 in heating costs. I do have an electric storage heater system, though, which is quite expensive to run.

A_fiend_for_life

A_fiend_for_life wrote: »

Extra thick curtain in the bedroom - £10 M&S sample from shelter. A roller blind but this is ineffective compared to thicker curtains.

Doubled curtains in the living room nobody's noticed or commented yet.

Curtain over living room door - need one for the front door.

Kitchen and bathroom are unheated and doors kept closed.

PS Don't run the risk of burst pipes though. Wouldn't want to be discovered on the DIY board claiming a friends pipes have burst etc...

shinjukumaster

Ytaya wrote: »

I found that investing in thermal curtain liners paid for itself in the first winter I had them! It cost me about £65 to get liners for my flat (4 windows), and they easily saved me £100 in heating costs. I do have an electric storage heater system, though, which is quite expensive to run.

How exactly do these work? And do they work only for tracks, or also poles?

Blinds_Girl

Upto 25% of heat is lost through windows in homes, so it could make a huge difference to how warm your house is. You can buy draught proofing strips from all major hardware stores to fit to your windows and doors. That combined with layering up on your window dressings with thick blinds and curtains should do the job.

Hope this helps

Blinds Girl

Ken68

Hi Devil....I have gone to an extreme level in preventing heat loss from the windows in this house facing north.
Polystyrene EXTERIOR shutters, shaped to fit into the reveal, pressed into place late afternoon, and removed in the morning.
Cost about £30 and last year provisional figures showed a £60 a year savings.
Additional benefits are NO CONDENSATION on the interior of the window.
Plus double curtains, and on the windows without exterior insulation I have fashioned quilts/duvet to hang on a cane.
The biggest heat loss in a house is opening outside doors.

ailuro2

We keep an indoor bin for recycling in wintertime - that way when we open the door to go out somewhere we take the bin with us to empty the tins/bottles into the recycling box, then bring in the bin in on the way back in. Saves opening the door and letting the heat out every time something gets recycled - defeats the purpose then, iyswim?

the_devil_made_me_do_it

ailuro2 wrote: »

We keep an indoor bin for recycling in wintertime - that way when we open the door to go out somewhere we take the bin with us to empty the tins/bottles into the recycling box, then bring in the bin in on the way back in. Saves opening the door and letting the heat out every time something gets recycled - defeats the purpose then, iyswim?

Funnily enough I bought some recycling bins from Aldi a few weeks ago for the same reason as you.. to avoid constant opening of the exterior doors.