Keeping your home warm while reducing your energy bills

In winter Australians often see an increase in gas and electricity bills as we spend more time at home with an increased use in heating. Heating and cooling generally equates to 40% of your household energy costs. Whether it be the use of heaters, hot water for baths and warm showers, cooking soups or roasts, these all contribute to increased energy consumption. However, there are alternatives to keeping your house warm. Check out Sumo’s suggestions for being more energy efficient and staying warm this winter.

Put more clothes on: While this seems rather obvious, it’s an easy and free way to reduce electricity and gas bills. Most of our body heat lost is through our feet and head, we can retain a lot of heat with a good pair of woolly socks and a beanie. In addition, put on extra layers of clothing, as it may mean you wait a bit longer each evening before switching on the heater.

Don’t heat bedrooms: The ideal bedroom sleeping temperature is 16 degrees, a lot lower than a normal room temperature of 18-21 degrees. You might consider heating the room for an hour before bed then switching it off before you go to sleep. This can be made easier with a timer that plugs into the outlet and switches the connection after a set amount of time. Extra blankets and a hot water bottle go a long way in providing cheap additional warmth.

Close your curtains: Close your curtains early in the evening to retain the heat from the day. Additionally, if you don’t have thick good quality curtains it may pay to invest in upgrading them.

External shutters: If you have external shutters on your windows, close them at night to add an extra layer of insulation.

Secondary Glazing: Along the same note as curtains and shutters, if you’re able to invest in a secondary layer of glazing, double-glazed windows are much more efficient at retaining heat in the house, especially windows that aren’t north facing.

Make sure your home is well-sealed: This is another really important step to take during the winter. Use towels or door-snakes to seal off gaps under the door that allow heat to stay in and keep out cold winter draughts. You can also add caulking and weather stripping to windows to ensure they aren’t leaking warm air.

Section-off your house: This is a simple yet effective tactic. A small space is much cheaper and faster to heat than a large space. If you don’t spend time in the extra living room or you’re not using the bedrooms during the day, make sure you close off doors to uninhabited areas. This way, any heating you are using won’t have to work as hard to warm up unused spaces.

Add insulation to your roof: While this is an added cost initially, adding 25cm of installation to your roof will dramatically cut power costs over both winter and summer. Heat rises and so much is lost out of the roof on winter days. Proper insulation is key to keeping your home warm and is a good investment for any home.

Update appliances: Economically this may not be an option for everyone, but in the long run having energy efficient appliances saves money. Old fridges or heaters that have low energy ratings generally need to work harder to do their job properly and therefore use more energy. Often seals on things like fridges break down over time and need replacing.

Re-use heat: If you’re running the dishwasher or using the oven, leave the doors open afterwards and let the remaining heat filter out into the room. If there are pets or small children around this may not be an option, but if it is, then it’s a cheap way to recycle heat that you’re already paying for.

Solar heating: Of course, if you’re willing to invest in solar power, this is one of the most green, sustainable ways to have cheaper utilities. Solar power is becoming increasingly affordable. If you have any questions or are after a no obligation quote, talk to Sumo’s solar team on 13 88 60.