Tips to Affordably Insulate Your Home for Savings

While electricity prices have increased sharply in the last few years, heating and cooling your home accounts for nearly 80% of your home's energy bills, significantly increasing your household bills.

On top of that, you should expect to pay higher energy bills, especially during winter, since you'll use more electricity to keep your home warm and cozy. It's critically important to find ways to cut down your energy consumption and lower your energy bills.

Installing insulation is one of the best ways to improve your home's energy efficiency and make huge savings in your monthly energy bills. While hiring a professional can guarantee quality workmanship, this can significantly increase the costs.

Fortunately, there are many simple yet effective changes you can make to keep your home warmer while also reducing your energy bills. One of them is replacing your external doors with more energy-efficient and secure doors from Doors Plus. Here are a few easy and inexpensive ways to insulate your home and significantly reduce your energy costs:


1. Weather Stripping Your Doors and Windows

Weather Stripping Your Doors and Windows

Gaps and draughts around your doors and windows allow cold air to get inside and heated air outside your home, making it difficult to keep your interiors warm and cozy. That means you must crank up your thermostat to heat your home's interiors, significantly increasing energy costs.

You can avoid the added energy costs by weather-stripping your windows and doors to seal the gaps and draughts. This is a more affordable way of adding insulation to your home than replacing the windows and doors.

If your house has single-glazed windows, you can easily double-glaze them by adding a layer of plastic film on the frames and smoothening any wrinkles with a hairdryer. This allows you to cost-effectively insulate your windows without spending a ton of money on full double glazing.


2. Insulate Your Attic

An uninsulated or poorly insulated attic could allow heat within your home to escape through the roof. Installing new insulation or adding more insulation to your attic can help retain up to 85 percent heat inside, keeping your home warm and bringing down your energy bills. An easy and affordable way to add insulation to your attic is using fiberglass batts.

That's mainly because they usually don't require expertise or special machinery to install. You don't need to hire a professional to insulate your attic, which can save you more money. You can even insulate your attic using special boards or mineral wool so long as your attic has no issues with dampness.


3. Caulk Your Vents

Besides weather stripping drafty windows and doors, ensure you inspect your house for any cracks and vents that could let cold air in, increasing your energy bills. Seal off any cracks in the walls and masonry, and vents around your bathroom and laundry room to prevent draughts from sneaking into your home.

You can use silicone caulk to seal up any gaps in your vents and cement for sealing cavity walls. Covering floorboards with large area rugs can also help trap heat that could be lost through the cracks.


4. Add Thick Curtains

Add Thick Curtains

If draughts still penetrate through the windows, hanging heavy curtains may provide the necessary barrier to reduce heat loss, helping cut down your energy bills. This is critically important for improving your home's energy efficiency, considering that door and window openings account for one-third of the total heat loss in a home. Moreover, changing your window curtains is more affordable than fixing poorly insulated windows.

Consider replacing any curtains made of thin materials with thicker fabrics or thermal fibers for improved insulation. You can also add a liner to your existing curtains, so you can open them during the day to add the sun's heat inside and draw them in the evening to contain the warmth.


5. Insulate Hot Water Pipes and Tanks

Insulating your home's hot water tanks and exposed pipes is another quick and affordable way to save on energy bills. Uninsulated hot water tanks and exposed pipes tend to lose more heat faster, so your hot water doesn't stay warm for longer. This means you need to constantly heat the water whenever you need some hot water, causing your energy bills to rise.

You can use a blanket or an insulation jacket to cover your water tanks so the water can stay hot for longer. For the pipes, you can find cheap pipe lagging to insulate any exposed pipes, especially between your water boiler and tank. This will prevent the chilly weather outside from making your hot water cold as it flows through your home. Make sure you purchase the right pipe insulation length, thickness, and diameter for better heat retention.


Endnote

There are many easy insulation ideas for your home, and you don't need to spend a fortune. Implementing the tips above can improve your home's energy efficiency, allowing you to enjoy significant savings on your energy bills.

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