With many people still struggling with the costs of their energy bills for the second year in a row. Trying to keep a firm grip on your energy usage has never been so important.
I thought I would share some of the practical ways that my partner and I have managed to stay warm, whilst keeping our energy usage to a minimum. However, there is no way of escaping the fact that energy bills are high, but here are a few ways we have been able to cut costs and reduce our day-to-day energy usage.
One of the ways to combat plummeting temperatures which doesn’t involve having to put the heating, is by looking at ways to stay warm. It might seem like the most obvious option, of staying toasty is to wrap up warm in a single woolly jumper, however your better off putting on several layers. If your familiar with trekking in the cold or going skiing, you will already know that wearing a number of layers conserves more heat than one thick layer.
Thermal Layers – Many retailers such as Mountain Warehouse and Decathlon are a great place to start looking, however they tend to be aimed at those needing them for special excursions and winter sports, if you’re on a tight budget consider looking on eBay or Vinted for second-hand options. Other places worth looking are Sports Direct and M and M Direct.
But what is the best cheap thermal wear to invest in this winter? Thermal clothing comes in many forms, such as jackets, jumpers, boots, socks, and so on.
However, if you’re seeking maximum warmth for minimal cost then the best place to start is with an article or layer of thermal underwear, or “base layer”. This doesn’t refer to underwear in the usual sense – thermal underwear means any piece of insulated clothing that sits underneath your outer layers. This could be a pair of leggings or long johns, a thin long-sleeved top, or even a one-piece layer that covers your entire body.
These tend to be really effective because they trap warm air against your skin and absorb any sweat you produce. Because they are an inner layer, the design of thermal underwear tends to be very simple and inconspicuous as well. I would definitely recommend Sports Directs and Mountain Warehouse thermal wear that combines reliability and warmth with affordability. I have brought from both retailers, and I am very happy with my purchases and would definitely buy from them again. While I have mainly linked thermal underwear in this article, most of the retailers shown here also offer options like thermal jackets, socks, fleeces and so on if your more than welcome to expand your thermal wardrobe with some other key items.
However, if you’re looking for ways to reduce your energy costs by changing or altering how you do things, it might be worth looking at investing in an electric blanket.
I didn’t realise until I started looking into electric blankets that there was actually more than one option. Under blankets operate like a mattress topper, have elasticated straps or are made like a fitted sheet, so you can put them securely on your bed. Over blankets are designed so that you can curl up under them on the sofa or at your desk, if you work from home. You can get ones that have a fleece look so you can leave them on show in your living room. Throws tend to have a shorter run time and will time out after three hours. Like me, you’re probably wondering how safe they are, this was my biggest concern too, especially if we brought an under blanket version, the last thing I want is my bed catching fire! The good news is all electric blankets have an auto-shut off setting, which turn them off after a certain amount of hours, minimising the risk of accidents. Others let you decide how long they run for, thanks to built in timers.
Many electric blankets come with a variety of heat zones and settings, and some have extra foot warmth. Blankets that are size double and above will have dual controls which allow you to adjust the setting during the night without disturbing your sleeping partner. (However, just be aware that dual control under blankets which are plugged in on two sides use double the electricity than single control under blankets.)
But the most important question is how much electricity do electric blankets use and this was what shocked me the most. Electric blankets have become increasingly more energy efficient. Which given the current financial and energy crisis, is great to know. The Silentnight Easi-Heat electric blanket costs just 1p to run per hour so you can afford to keep it on throughout the night without having to worry about the cost!
So… should you buy an electric blanket, does the initial cost out way the future savings, and will it help keep us warm and save on our heating bill?
Yes, yes, yes and yes!!!
Finding the best way to dry your clothes this winter may not sound like the most exciting of pursuits but it’s the saving that most of us are interested in, since the price of energy soared, we’re all on the lookout for money-saving devices like air fryers and electric heaters – and a heated clothes airer is usually cheaper to run than a tumble dryer, rather than it costing around £2 per load in a dryer, it costs around 10p per hour based on the current electricity prices. (Jan 2024)
Energy prices this winter are set to remain high and most of us will need to find an additional £94 to spend on electricity and gas this year due to the energy price rise. So, if you would rather hang your clothes on an air dryer than use a tumble dryer you could instantly reduce your energy consumption and save £70 per year (information according to Ovo Energy) When you allow your clothes to dry naturally, not only are you preventing shrinkage, but also ‘wear’ caused by the heat of a tumble dryer. Not only will your clothes last longer, but you will also spend less money replacing worn out items.
Last year we decided to invest in a set of thermals for each of us, we weren’t sure how cold the winter was going to be, but we had snow twice last year and it stuck around for over a week on the ground, so the house was freezing, and like most people as much as we hated to put the central heating on, we had no other option. I am so glad we did purchase these, both of us use them all the time during the winter months, under our jeans, when we have to wear waterproofs to walk the dog and I wear them at both my places of work under my uniforms, like many people we wear them in our day-to-day lives to dodge the cold. (We got ours thermals from Sports Direct and as you can see from the picture we got them on a multi buy offer)
We opted for an electric under blanket (mattress topper) we could put this on rather than our central heating at night and it would keep us warm and cozy for up to eight hours even on the coldest of nights. What I love about our Silentnight Easi-Heat Microfleece Electric Blanket is that we only need to put it on briefly as we get ready for bed to take the edge of jumping in between a freezing cold duvet and mattress, the topper remains warm enough even after being shut down that neither one of us wakes during the night due to being too cold, as the heat seems to stays under the covers the whole night long.
Up until last year like many people we used to dry our clothes during the winter over are radiators and when we lived in our flat, on hangers from the curtain rail in the rooms that got sunshine through the windows in the hope of drying them quicker (however this would take as long as three days, and are house was left smelling musty and damp, with condensation on the windows not to mention that the rooms would be cold due to the fact that the clothing was blocking the heat escaping into the room so we won’t actually benefitting from having the heating on. I noticed that there were loads of articles floating around on the internet about air driers and so I did my research and yes, they have quite an expensive outlay but trust me when I say this IT IS SO WORTH IT!! And this year I have added a cover to my air dryer which has cut the drying time in half now! So another huge money saver on my already money saving appliance.
