Cut out draughts and save money
Draughts can account for some big heat losses in the home. Take a look at your homes EPC, and if you don’t have draught proofing, there will be a recommendation there with savings of £50 or more per year. In many cases that is as much as changing to a more efficient heating system, or upgrading your windows. But the crazy thing is that draughts are so easy to cut out.
Dealing with draughts at doors and windows
Perhaps the most obvious place for draughts, gaps around your door and poor seals around your windows will create big draughts that sap the heat from your house. EcoSavers are great little adhesive strips that can be easily installed along the frame to make sure that your doors and windows have a nice snug fit and help make the home more efficient.
Dealing with draughts through the floor
Believe it or not, if you have exposed timber floors, chances are you are getting a big draught coming up through the gaps between the floorboards. Of course, you could cover it with carpet, but may people like the look of their timber floors, and don’t want to lose that period feature.
In this case the answer is to install DraughtEx. This product fits between the floorboards and cuts out any draughts that may be a problem. How does it work? The product is a really spongy flexible cord, which can be compressed to just 10% of its original size. This means that it can fit snugly into the gaps between the boards, whether those gaps are wide or narrow. You can fit it very easily with a credit card or similar, and it lasts a lifetime so you will never have to replace it.
Draughts in your chimney
Older properties may well have open chimneys that can create draughts. If you are not using the fire, you can get yourself a cheap and simple to install gadget like the chimney sheep or a chimney balloon to fit into the chimney and cut out draughts. These gadgets are fantastic because they don’t block off the chimney permanently and they can be easily removed to allow you to enjoy the fire if you want to.
Draught proof your letterbox
Your letterbox can be really draughty, and there’s not much you can do to your current one – they are really tricky to draught proof effectively. However, there is something you can do. The answer is to get yourself a MagFlap or an Ecoflap. These are specially designed letter boxes that stops draughts in their tracks. Simply install the new letterbox in your door and throw the old one out, and you will ensure your front door is far more efficient!
Draught proofing is cheap and cost effective
There couldn’t be an easier way to save money on your heating bills than draught proofing. Where some measures are big and expensive, draught proofing is as simple as it gets and does not need to be very expensive.