1. Insulation

Starting with the attic and working your way down the house to the walls and floors, ensure you have good quality insulation such as spray foam or fibreglass. The attic is one of the main places where a house loses its heat at approximately 20% due to heat rising. Invest in some good quality external and internal wall cladding. Also, do not neglect your hot water tank and pipes. By using some pipe lagging and a lagging jacket on your hot water tank, it helps to insulate and keep the heat in for much longer reducing the work your boiler has to do and significantly reducing your heating bills.

2. Draughts

A major loss of heat in the house is caused by draughts. Not only can this increase your energy bill but it can also increase the risk of damp and mould growing. Take time this Winter to do a 10-minute inspection of your house particularly on a windy day and go over all of the windows, doors, keyholes, floors and skirting boards checking for any gaps or cracks. Seal any gaps with some easy to use weather strips and foam tape and use a draught excluder to stop heat escaping from under the door. An unused fireplace should be plugged with a chimney balloon which will be sure to keep that heat in where it’s supposed to be.

3. Heating

Regulate the heating in your home by using a thermostat or smart heating appliance. It is very important to maximise the use of your heating during the winter and reduce your energy bills by only turning on radiators in rooms that are frequently used and by controlling the time and temperature using smart heating controls. This can help you save on energy bills ensuring the heat is where you need it and when you need it. Heating can take a good 30 minutes to kick in and to also wind down so set radiator controls to turn on 30 minutes before you wake up and turn off 30 minutes before you leave to maximise the benefit for you.

Also, use aluminium foil or radiator reflector foil behind your radiator as heat can be lost from the back of the wall so this is an excellent tip for reflecting heat to where you need it.

4. Upgrade windows and doors

If you have the budget to do so, it is a very wise decision to upgrade your windows and doors to energy-efficient ones saving you money on your utility bills while also reducing your energy loss throughout the home.

A good fibreglass or steel exterior door can reduce energy loss throughout the house and provide you with excellent security.

5. Open fire/ Stove

While new builds do not have the option of an open fire, if you live in an older style house, note that open fires are an extremely inefficient way to heat your home with approximately 8-% of the heat lost up the chimney. Not only this, but when not in use the heat from the room is also escaping up the chimney unless you combat this with a chimney balloon.

Investing in a stove is a much better option and a lot less maintenance is required. If you do use an open fire, clean chimneys regularly, check vents, smoke alarms and C02 monitors.

Please note home energy grants are available from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI).

Visit www.seai.ie to see all of the grants on offer for homeowners that you can apply for to reduce energy costs.

Remember to get your boiler checked and serviced once per year.