Budget friendly tips for keeping warm in Winter

We’ve already seen a few particularly chilly days this Winter. Keeping warm is important for your health and wellbeing, so here are a few tips to help you keep warm on a budget.

• Let the sun in during the day and close your blinds or curtains once the sun has gone down. Thermal curtains are best if possible. Up to 40% of heat can be lost through windows, so closing windows will help to keep the warmth in and cold out.
• If you don’t have a heater, you don’t want to turn it on, or you want to reduce running costs, putting on additional layers of clothing, using a hot water bottle and blanket are good alternatives. Extremities feal the most cold, so wearing socks or slippers and maybe even a beanie can help (although it isn’t true that you lose most of your body heat through your head, as the myth suggested).
• If you use a heater, only heat the rooms you are using, close the doors to unused rooms.  Set your heater to the lowest temperature that is comfortable – ideally between 18 degrees and 21 degrees celcius – lowering the temperature by 1 degrees celcius can reduce running costs by 10 per cent. If your heater has louvres to direct heat, point them towards the floor – because warm air rises, so if it starts at the floor, it will cover more of the room. Make sure your heater is working correctly and that nothing is sitting in front of or on top of it. If you’re renting and the installed heaters aren’t working, remember that your landlord has a responsibility to make sure that they are.
• Add door draught blockers, or “snakes” along any doors where there are gaps. Cold air often creeps in underneath doors, and it’s estimated that up to 25% of heat loss in winter is caused by ‘air leakage’ – a.k.a. draughts.
• Warm drinks (like tea, coffee or hot chocolate) and warming meals like soups and stews help to warm you up from the inside.
• If rugs are an option, they will help insulate bare hard floors.
• Hot water bottles are an effective and cheap alternative to electric blankets.
• For general energy savings, it is good practice to switch off appliances when not in use. Appliances like chargers, TVs, gaming consoles and microwaves use power even when they’re not going. This could add hundreds of dollars to your power bill every year. Always switch them off or unplug them at the wall.
• Finally, you can check if you are eligible for assistance with paying your energy bills. The government offers energy bill relief as well as various rebates and concessions across the country. See what you are entitled to and be sure to apply.