Top 10 Products to help you Save Money this Winter
As the temperature drops that few degree it is a good time to consider ways of coping with
the cold months ahead and perhaps saving some money in the process.
Below please read our top 10 tips. Please add your own views in the comment field below. At the end of November we will give out three prizes to the people that have added the most meaningful contributions.
First Prize – Owl Energy Monitor
Second Prize – Radbooster Radiator Reflector Panels
Third Prize – Chimney Balloon & Inflation Tube
So here is our 10 Tips for Saving Money This Winter
1: Chimney Balloons are inserted in the flue or unused or rarely used fireplaces and are designed to eliminate cold draughts entering the room and heat loss escaping from your room and up the chimney. When installed a chimney balloon gives you an estimate 25% energy saving.
2: The Radbooster Radiator Reflector Panels are designed to be easily fitted to the brackets at the back of your radiators. When installed the Rad Booster will help you to heat your room 35% faster. Made in Ireland and independently tested by a leading BER Assessor.
3: The Stopcock Cosy insulates your water supply helping to prevent your water supply from freezing. Ensures that your water supply will stay intact no matter how cold it gets this winter.
4: With energy rates continuing to rise it is well worth considering the installation of Far Infrared heating plates. Works on the same principle as the sun radiating the earth these ceiling mounted heating panels heat your body as opposed to the room. Come with thermostats for adjusting room temperature. Can save up to 70% on heating bill when compared to conventional heating systems.
5: Energie Solar Panels will guarantee to give you 100% hot water daytime and at night whatever the weather 365 days of the year. Probably the most reliable and maintenance free solar panel system on the Irish market.
6: Bursting attic pipes caused hundreds of thousands Euro in damages in Ireland last winter. The Attic Cosy Kit provides full protection to your attic pipes against freezing. One kit comes with eight 1 meter lengths of self-adhesive strip and elbow and T fitting to cover joint fittings.
7: Reports of oil theft seem to be on the increase again this winter. Not a great surprise when considering the record high oil prices. A Tanklok will secure your oil supply against this growing risk of theft.
8: Sheep Wool Insulation rolls insulate or top up existing insulation in your attic. Made of 100% Sheep wool this product is effective in even the harshest of climate. A fully breathable product, sheep wool insulation is the most eco friendly type of insulation available.
9: During the winter months our energy bills invariably begin to show an increase. But could we be doing a little more to counter this? An Owl Energy Monitor allows you to measure your spending in real time and adjust your energy use behavioural patterns accordingly.
10: Using more hot water generally means an increase in your energy bill. The Ecocamel Aerated Showerhead will divide the amount of water you use when showering in two without affecting the water pressure or indeed how much you enjoy your shower.
So add your ideas below on saving money this winter and you might just win one of these three great prizes.
close your curtains as soon as it gets dark, keeps the heat in.
After baking cookies or making dinner in the oven, leave the door open a crack. There’s a lot of heat in that oven, so letting it escape puts the heat to good use by warming up the kitchen and surrounding rooms meaning the furnace has to run a little bit less.
HANG CLOTHES IN HOT PRESS INSTEAD OF USEING THE DRYER.
All cuddle up on the sofa, with a duvet, close the curtains, doors, turn off the lights, candle instead and just have a good old catch up. Don’t do this often enough with the kids and hubby. x
put tinfoil behind radiators so as to reflect more heat into the room
It’s amazing how much heat escapes under the front and back doors and also the windows of the house. Last year during the big freeze, we decided to lay a blanket down on the floor and also on the window ledges to prevent a draft coming in and to prevent heat escaping. It was just amazing the difference we noticed and we really believe it cut down on our heating bill a lot. I’d highly recommend it!
Use a vegetable steamer when cooking. It is a great money saver and it will keep most of the nutrients in the vegetables, making them much better for you .
Use those thin strips of foam with a sticky back to draught-proof internal doors – most external doors are now pvc so when you pull the handle up they are sealed but putting this (very cheap) tape on internal doors – heat stays in rooms much longer!
Also put lids on pots when cooking or even better use a layered steamer – more economical and food very healthy out of them!
We could really feel a draught coming from under kitchen presses, while standing there making dinner etc. As we had some insulation left from doing up attic, we decided to shove the rest behind kickboard. It has made a huge difference 🙂
Stop your water tank in the attic from freezing and put an infrared bulb in the attic with a thermostat on it. An electrican will do it in 30 mins and this will stop your tank from freezing over. Secondily you can wrap insulation around your water tank also. Not at the bottom though as you want the heat from downstairs to rise up under your tank. Grace.
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I’ve just had my cavity walls and attic insulated. There is a €600 grant for this and it covers most of the cost. It only takes a few hours for any registered contractor to do it. My house is so much more cosy now !!!
Forgot to add that that it also saves about 1/3 on your heating bill !
This may be an obvious one but just turn off the lights after you leave a room. and turn down the rads in the rooms you dont use
Buy an energy efficient boiler or have your old boiler serviced. This will provide more value for money allowing you to spend less to heat your house.
always use the timer on the immersionheater.This should supply you with enough hot water as and when u need it…the toaster is more efficent then the grill..and when cooking in the oven try avoid opening the coor as this looses 20% of the heat.
Only put as much water as needed in the electric kettle.
Wash clothes at 40 degrees or lower.
Use economy setting on dishwasher.
Use hot water bottle instead of electric blanket.
Switch off heating a little while before you go to bed instead of at bedtime.
Switch off appliances in standby mode.
Turn down the thermostat by just one degree.
Draughtproof all exterior doors and windows.
Turn off rads in unused rooms.
Smile more! Gives eveyone a warm feeling!
get some good socks and slippers and an extra jumper
Make sure your fridge/freezer is defrosted regularly …. it uses huge amounts of electricity when it gets blocked up with ice and an also really obvious point, make sure you close the fridge door everytime you use it 🙂 You’d be surprised how often the other half forgets!
Install a set of luscious heavily lined curtains to keep the house warm and snug!
Even if we all used just one of the top 10 hints you have mentioned we would make huge energy savings – i for one never thought of a chimney balloon – of course i wonder if you wanted to do it on the cheap would one of those balloons that shops give away for free do 😛
use draught excluders on doors, also if your front door lets in a lot of cold air think about putting up a long lined curtain and pull it across the door to keep out the cold
when you are going to bed hang your washing on the cloths horse and leave them in the sitting room over night where the fire has been lighting and they are dry in the morning when you get up
If your sitting at home and feel cold.. dont turn up the heating, do 10 bodyweight squats (or more if your up for it)… that’l get your blood pumping…after a few minutes you’l feel a lot warmer
Bleed the radiators regularly and clean dust off the coils that cool the fridge, since it insulates them from working efficiently and wastes electricity. If you use a fireplace for heat you can recycle old newspapers into fire logs by shaping them into cylinders before soaking them in water and leaving them to completely dry. Closing the vents and doors to empty rooms keeps the heat in the parts of the house that are occupied. Also insulate the attic door as heat rises and can escape through the cracks.
An electric blanket will cut down on heating bills. put it on 1 hour before you go to bed and turn of the central heating at the same time
If you are gone away for even a night, switch off the immersion.
Use energy saving light bulbs. They last longer as well
Put on extra clothing and put a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel by your feet while watching TV.
Use Hot water bottles in beds instead of Electric Blankets
My alternative 10 are:
1. Immigrate
2. Build a porch
3. Everyone sleep in the one room (preferably living room)
4. Turn things off!
5. Stay out an hour later every evening
6. Use more candles
7. Wear a jumper indoors.
8. Go on your holidays in winter instead of summer, go somewhere warm and it’ll be an added bonus
9. keep the pets inside (ideally a couple of sheep but a cow is ok too)
10. Every sunday, lie in bed all day under 3 duvets with a book
When extractor fan is not in use,cover the outlet pipe. stops cold air coming in,makes huge difference
Buy draft insulation and block up all drafts at windows and doors
Wear an extra jumper and turn down your thermostat by one degree.
How about a solar powered or wind up alternative?
You can buy wind up torches, wind up radios, and solar mobile phone,mp3 and ipod chargers. 🙂
Installing a stove will give instant return as it is low on fuel its output will heat more than one room in the house. If the attic has been insulated for a few years, it may need a top up – this will make a big difference in retaining heat upstairs.
After last winter I decided to take this in hand and have:
1. had my walls pumped and attic insulated again – I now have the builders insulation, another layer I added myself about 3 years ago and a new layer of rock wool up there! I got the SEAI grant for this work.
2. I’ve replaced all the curtains on the north facing side of the house with thermal backed curtains and made sure they do not cover radiators
3. I’ve had all window and patio door seals, mechanisms and handles checked and repaired where necessary
4. I’ve changed my letterbox cover to one with a draught excluder and put an insulating strip around the front door
5.I’ve installed a boiler stove and though we are only putting on small fires at the moment it is heating all my rads and giving us some hot water. In addition the stove has eliminated the draught that used to come under my living room door and up the fireplace chimney and we wake up to a warm house every morning – even the recent frosty ones! We haven’t had the oil heating on at this autumn so I do believe that what we will save on oil will cover the cost of the stove!
The difference in the house is just unbelieveable! So worth the effort and I’m looking forward to being toasty warm once the real cold weather comes!!
I always stick a batch of scones into the oven when its on to be more energy efficient, they freeze well and are always great with a cuppa! I also got my mum to recyle and old duvet and made it into ‘Snake’ which is used as a draguht excluder at the patio doors……or a wrestling partner depending on whether my niece is visiting.
As my nana always used to say…stop your shivvering and put on another jumper! Bless her she has saved me a fortune on heating costs x
get one of those paper block makers(around 25-30 euro).gather all ur old newspapers & get a bucket so when all small kids &big ones!! get bored get them to shread & tare paper,in no time you’ll have cosy fire logs for free.
Visit friends more offten during the day,it saves you running your heat all day for one person 🙂 also join a gym and shower there, it saves your hot water 🙂
1. I have a blanket hanging inside the house at the front door.
2. I had to put some silicone around the house
3. Some plaster in gaps behind kitchen drawers (VERY COLD IN THERE!!) and gaps between toilet pipes inside. I’ve used plaster mixed with glass (bulbs the best) to get rid of mice, rats and all kind of these!)
Keep track of your energy bills on a spreadsheet to compare with previous bills. You can work out average cost per day, per month etc and how many units you have been using (or saving). Draw up some simple colourful graphs, print them out and pin them up so that the whole family can see at a glance the benefits of their efforts (in both euros and units).
Sew a couple of pouches into your jumper for hot water bottles to fit into. Like a toasty Michelen (wo)man.
Put on an extra layer of clothes in the house – fleeces are very good at keeping you warm and nice thick socks
Close curtains and doors when it gets dark. Put on your vest ,as mymother used to say!
These are just a few of the energy (and money!) saving tips I use at home – hope someone finds them of some use 🙂
1.) Draft Proof all doors and windows – check for any leaks or cracks and seal them with silicone – put draft excluders at the doors if there’s a breeze coming in underneath.
2.) Replace all bulbs in your house with energy saving CFL bulbs – just watch and see your bills plummet!
3.) Seal up your chimney if you don’t happen to be use it – otherwise all your toasty warm air goes straight up the Chimney!
4.) Make sure you put a lagging jacket immersion heater to retain heat.
5.) Check out http://www.purchase.ie for the latest in money saving products which will save energy – good for the environment and good for your bank balance! Plus it’s always nice to support an Irish company where possible! 🙂
6.) Check to see if you are entitled to any SEAI grants in respect of insulating your home – you could be looking at 50% savings!!
7.) Make sure your attic has at least 12″ of insulation – heat rises, so you wan’t to make sure your attic is well insulated so all that warm air doesn’t escape.
8.) Wait until you have a full load before using your dishwasher and washing machine – same goes for the tumble drier – these appliances can eat into your electricity bills, so only use them once you have a full load to get the maximum benefit.
9.) Turn down your central heating a few notches and wear layers – you won’t miss the extra few degrees of heat – but your wallet will certainly notice the difference! Stuffy houses aren’t beneficial for young kids, especially those prone to asthma, so lower your temperature by a few degrees and see how you get on.
10.) Cook large meals like big stews of lasagnes at once – you save on the oven electricity by not cooking small portions every day – make large batches to economise on your cooking bills.
11.) When you’re finished using the oven, leave the door open to let the heat from the oven heat your kitchen – there’s no point closing the door trapping all the heat when no-one gets the benefit of it!
12.) Invest in aluminium radiator backings to reflect the heat back into your room again – you’d be surprised by how much this can make a difference.
13.) Invest in a storage heater if possible – it’s very cheap to use the storage heater on the night rate at night time – and you get the benefit of the storage bricks radiating the heat throughout your house for the rest of the next day afterwards.
14.) Install heavy lined curtains in all your rooms – in the winter time you’ll really notice how the heavy, thick curtains help to keep the cold draughts out and the warm, cosy air inside.
15.) Plug out all appliances when they are not in use – don’t just leave them in standby. Every little bit helps!
16.) Re-use old newspapers by buying a paper firelog maker – simple shred old wet newspapers, insert them into your firelog maker and voila – free firelogs for toasty, roaring fires on cold nights!
17.) Regularly bleed your radiatiors to ensure there’s no blockages and that everything is working to optimal levels.
18.) Only boil as much water in the kettle as you’ll use.
19.) Turn down your dishwasher and washing machine settings down a few degrees.
20.) Defrost your freezer regularly to make sure it’s running at maximized levels to save on energy,
Check out http://www.purchase.ie for more energy saving tips and products! 🙂
Hope these were of some use to someone.
After a bath do not empty the water straight away. Leaving it in the bath lets the heat from the water warm your bathroom rather than warming your septic tank!!
Buy A Rated appliances when possible, these are the most energy efficient 🙂
Times are tight and fuel and energy prices are shooting up. Try turn off and plug out appliances during the night. It saves up to 250 euro a year leaving more money to keep the heating on a little longer during the Winter without pinching your pennies.
Insulate hot water cylinder and pipes! It will stop heat escaping and save money for all 🙂
Put on extra layers of clothes instead of putting the heating on, easy!
Bring the dog for an extra long walk!!
Put autodoor closers on all the doors in your house, closing the door behind you keeping all that heat in the room.
spend more time in other peoples warm houses!!!
to save on waste recycle more use yogurt pots to plant seeds in. to reduce water usage collect rain water and to save on energy use a hot gel bottle instead of an electric blanket or water bottle.
If you are having a hot bath, when you are finished use some of the hot water to fill your hot water bottle which you can then stick in the bed to warm it up. Saves on water, saves having to use an electic blanket.
To save money this winter, I shower and wash my hair in gym where possible, turn heat off once house is warm, put on an extra layer and a fluffy blanket while watching tv, make it a habit to turn heat off regularly, only wash clothes when the machine is full, only use dishwasher when its full, get plenty of exercise and you need less heat, if cooking in the over for dinner cook everything in the oven at the same time otherwise cook everything on the hob.
Get a girlfriend for the winter.
wear loads of warm under clothes and keep all doors and windows closed
Heat the amount of water you really need and if you’re using an electric kettle
Get the kids into the swing of things, and get them to switch off lights, pull out plugs, take out chargers, etc. You’ll find that if you forget they won’t be long about reminding you lol. Leave long padded draught excluders down at the front and back door and keep all doors closed to keep the heat in. Padded sticky strips around your windows will also prevent draughts. Make sure your curtains aren’t covering your radiators when on, as this blocks the heat. Never fill a kettle if your making a cup of tea, just use what you need. Only use electrical appliances when full, washing machine, etc. Use heavy wooly blankets on bed instead of having to switch the heating on during the night. And use the timer, only have it coming on at critcal points in the day eg. the morning.
Turn off the heating at night and get yourselves a hot water bottle. Invest in some draft excluders for doors etc. Heat only rooms you use and turn down the thermostats.
Put up a curtain in your hall way on the main front door. Once your home for the night, close them shut. You will be AMAZED how much warmer the hallway will be!!
Put curtains up where possible in open plan houses to divide up the house a bit during the cold months and turn off radiators in the new ‘rooms’ you dont need. This can reduce the cost of heating considrably
Turn off lights when room is not in use and close curtains to keep draughts out and heat in
Insulate the walls of the house!
turn off oven 10 min before end of cooking time. heat in there finish off cooking.
wash dark colours in cold wash saves energy and stops clothes fading.
use a tiered steamer when cooking.
1)Reuse it in its present form? (e.g. refilling a water bottle with water)
2)Reform it and use it for some other purpose? (e.g. use a yoghurt pot to grow seedlings in)
3)Recycle it so that the raw materials can be used in the manufacturing process again
4)Refuse – in other words avoid purchasing environmentally burdensome materials
5)Reduce the amount of waste material generated
6)Repair – if an item is broken, see if it can be repaired first before replacing with new
7)Reassign – if you can’t use or re-use an item, can someone else use it instead?
8)Recover – if a producer uses excessive packaging shouldn’t they be responsible for recycling it!
1. Delay the need for turning on the heating by wearing more clothing – in
layers not necessarily thicker clothing. Turn it off earlier in the spring by the same practice.
2. Don’t use partial loads in your washing machine or dishwasher and the next time you change, buy one of the new “drizzle” type machines they save up to 60% in water consumption and 40% in energy. Only use a tumble dryer in an emergency – get your clothes outside on the garden line. As well as saving energy they smell better.
3. Adding loft insulation, and taking the heating down by three degrees can easily save 20% on heating bills – perhaps more.
4. Put a timer on your immersion heater (mechanically driven if you can get it – they are quite difficult to find but they ARE available). Ensuring that you keep it off at every available opportunity can save nearly as much as the last tip. Water immersion heaters are massive consumers of electricity
Open the blinds & curtains in the mornings on south facing sides when the sun comes out. Works well with South Facing conservatories. And put your clothes horse in there for the day. Close all blinds and curtains before 4.30pm before the chill begins.
Ensure you have either thermostat controlled heating or a room thermometer in each room as most people can have the heating on too high which is not good for your health or for your children. Upstairs should be 16-18.C for children to sleep comfortably & not irritate their chest or throats. Downstairs can be 18-20.c but really we can be very comfortable at 18.c
Use night time saver electricity for appliances such as Dishwasher and washing machhine. If they dont have a timer on the machine buy a timer to plug in.
Have a chimney damper installed.
Turn off lights in rooms that are not used.
Close curtains and install draught strips around internal doors.
try and dry your clothes on the line at least to get the big wet from them. You get great exercise running in and out to the line between showeres too.!
If your freezer is not full to capacity it uses energy. Fill the empty spaces with newspapers,magazines or cardboard.
Key hole cover. Very easy to install .
Candles while watching television
turn off rads in unused rooms
close curtains behind rads
An extra blanket on your bed
keep all doors closed
snuggle up to ur loved ones aahh 🙂
I always wear a pair of tights under my trousers & sit with my feet on a cushion. It really does make a difference.
as soon as it startsto get dark close all curtains, only have lights on in rooms being used and keep all doors closed to keep in the heat …..
Happy Monday folks,
The winners are
1: David O Driscoll
2: Sandy
3: Michelle Farrell