It’s October, and time to start thinking about how you’ll effectively heat your home over the winter months. Sadly, most homes in the UK are highly inefficient compared with elsewhere in Europe, leaking precious heat everywhere. This means not only do we pay a lot of money for heating, but home energy accounts for about a quarter of the UK’s carbon emissions – and 80% of that energy comes from heating space and water. Of course, damp and draughty homes are also pretty bad for human health, so there’s plenty of reasons to take steps to improve your home before winter bites.

Thick, heavy curtains are your friends
If you’re renting, you will have minimal control over energy saving measures in your home which can be doubly frustrating, but there are things you can do. Thick, heavy curtains over windows and doors are your friend – make sure you close them as soon as it gets dark, and tuck curtains behind radiators or weight them onto the windowsill where possible. You can easily make “sausage dogs” for draughty doors – just search for ‘make your own draught excluder’. Thick rugs on bare floors or threadbare carpets will help avoid draughts from between floorboards. If windows are single glazed, buy cheap film to stick on the window and act as secondary glazing.

Warm yourself with extra layers before putting on the heating or gas fire
Think about heating the smallest amount of space needed by closing off rooms or hanging curtains to divide areas, and warming yourself up with extra layers or hot drinks before putting the heating or gas fire on. Hot water bottles left to warm up beds can avoid the need to heat the bedroom just before bed, though of course kids, older people or people who are unwell need fully heated rooms.

Finally, it’s worth asking your landlord to make long-term improvements to the house. I previously rented a house which had just one highly inefficient gas fire, and asked the landlord to install central heating – which she did!

If you own your home, there’s lots you can do to make long-term improvements which will reduce carbon emissions and save you money. A gold-standard resource is the Information Service from the Centre for Alternative Technology – info.cat.org.uk. They recommend doing a home energy audit, taking gas and electric readings each week, to help you see the benefits of the measures you introduce. These can range from basic (use sealant to fill gaps between floorboards and in skirting boards, wrap hot water pipes in foam) to longer term investments.

35% of home heat loss is via the walls
About 35% of home heat loss is via the walls, so consider wall insulation first – different types are suitable for cavity or solid walls. Lofts are another major source of heat loss, and very easy to insulate – you can often do so yourself.

This is my last ‘Save the Planet’ column, and next month you’ll see a new face with lots of new ideas. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading, and remember: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – in that order!