The 8 simple things I do to make my old house feel warmer once winter hits — and they'll work for you too

Most homeowners in the UK know that they need to brace themselves for the onset of rain and falling temperatures come winter, but those who also happen to live in older houses, like me, also need to prepare themselves for the onset of chilly conditions inside their properties as well as out. And in my experience, it really does pay to look into ways of keeping a house warm in winter early in the season.

My house is cold all year long and, in all fairness, during the summer this is something of a blessing. However, as someone who works from home, come autumn, as the thermometer falls even lower, the icy nature of my house can get a bit much – blue fingers, dripping nose and numb toes are all frequently experienced.

Having lived here for some years now though, I have gradually built up an arsenal of effective ways of battling the cold in this house without facing eye-watering heating bills – here are my top eight.

1. Get in the habit of closing doors all around the house

This sounds so simple (and it is) but it really is one of the most effective ways I've found of keeping the various rooms within my old cottage warm as well as saving energy.

Closing the doors that leads from our incredibly cold entrance hallway, which features a draughty original front door and uninsulated slate floor, into our living room makes an unbelievable difference, as does keeping the bedroom doors upstairs shut during the day. This is also essential if you plan on using one of the best oil-filled radiators or electric heaters to keep yourself warm before using your central heating.

The one room this doesn't work for is the downstairs toilet. The room features an uninsulated, solid external wall and no insulation in the floor either – it is actually better to keep this door open (when not in use!) so it can benefit from the warm air in the adjacent space.

2. Turn the heating on first thing in the morning

Whether you have smart heating, your heating runs on a timer, or you turn it on and off manually (like us thanks to never having got around to programming our system properly), the times of day you set your heating to power up can make all the difference when it comes to how comfortable your house is to spend time in.

For us, after a night with the heating off, we wake to some toe-curlingly low temperatures, but turning the heating on first thing soon sorts the problem. It turns out we are doing the right thing here.

'It’s far more cost-effective to turn the heating off at night,' says Stephen Hankinson, heating expert at Electric Radiators Direct. 'The same applies if you’re out during the day, there’s no need to heat up an empty house.

'Just after sunrise is the coldest part of the day so I suggest turning your heating on for a short burst first thing when you wake up,' continues Stephen. 'This takes the edge off as you get out of bed and sets your home up for the day without wasting energy by running it for too long.'

3. Pop draught excluders underneath the doors

I'm not sure why it took me so long to realise how effective draught excluders can be when it comes to the best draught proofing ideas – but given the very ill-fitting nature of our doors (internal and external), simply investing in a few high quality models has really helped keep the house feeling cosy and snug.

We use one under the door from the hallway into the living room and another between the living room and open plan kitchen diner. I am about to buy another to sit beneath the front door too although I'll need to track down a really heavy duty, and preferably machine-washable one here given that it'll be located in our busy hallway.

I'd really recommend either shopping in person for a draught excluder or being really careful to read a wide range of verified reviews if buying online as some are really flimsy and just not fit for purpose – I learnt the hard way.

Shop the best draught excluders

4. Light the fire and the log burner

We have a log burning stove in the open-plan kitchen/diner/snug area of our home, and an open fire in the living room. Both act as brilliant sources of secondary heating, teamed with our radiators.

The log burner is the more effective of the two, heating up the open-plan space in no time at all, happily simmering away in the background while using less in the way of fuel than the open fire. We just light it mid-morning and let it do its thing – even if it has all but gone out by the evening, it continues to emit warmth – even into the bedroom above which shares its chimney.

While the open fire has less of whole-house warming effect, if we ensure the living room doors stay shut, it does a pretty good job.

5. Start running the dehumidifier more regularly

I never realised how effective the best dehumidifiers are at taking the chill out of a space, but given how they work to regulate the humidity in a room, it does make sense.

'Water vapour is held in humid air, which has a higher heat capacity than dry air – so it takes more energy to heat,' explains Meaco's CEO, Chris Michael. 'For this reason, a house with high humidity feels colder and this, in turn, forces their heating systems to work harder to get to and maintain a comfortable temperature.'

In addition to helping to make the room it is in feel warmer (usually our bedroom), our dehumidifier also dries out wet washing much faster.

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6. Leave the oven open after cooking

Using the residual heat from other appliances to make the house feel more comfortable just makes sense if you want to heat you home without turning the heating on. Just as when trying to keep a house cool in summer you might reduce your use of heat-generating appliances, such as lamps, ovens, hairdryers and so on, in winter, it makes sense to make the most of them.

While I am not suggesting you crank up your cooker and open up the door in order to get your kitchen feeling nice and cosy (this would clearly be incredibly wasteful), I find that, after turning it off, leaving the door open really makes a difference to the temperature within our entire open plan set-up for some time afterwards.

The same effect can be had by leaving the dishwasher open after use and I never miss the opportunity to negate my daughter's over-zealous use of the hairdryer by shutting the door to the room she is blasting it away in.

7. Bleed the radiators

In the past, I have noticed our radiators feeling rather patchy, with cold spots – some alarmingly large. This has been due to the fact that we haven't been diligent when it comes to bleeding them.

'Less than 30% of people regularly bleed a radiator and this leads to cold spots that are caused by trapped air,' explains Joanna O’Loan, knowledge manager at Energy Saving Trust. 'Bleeding a radiator is simple. All you need is a radiator bleed key (try this Solid Brass Radiator Bleed Key Set from Amazon), an old towel and something to collect any water in.'

Joanna has a few more tips on how to get the most out of your radiators this winter.

'Don’t block radiators with furniture, otherwise it makes your heating system less effective,' she says. 'Move sofas and other heavy furniture away from radiators and remove radiator covers.'

Joanna O'Loan

Since 2019, Joanna has been helping people understand and adopt energy efficiency and zero-carbon technologies through research, analysis, writing, training, and advice at Energy Saving Trust. 

8. Check all our draught proofing is in good condition

While we have spent the last few winters upgrading our door and window draught proofing, I've found it is sill useful to give it all a once over before the cold weather sets in as it can, over time, move around or get damaged.

'Fitting draught proofing strips to windows and doors is a relatively quick and easy job that can make a big difference,' says Joanna O'Loan. 'Cutting out draughts stops heat escaping and prevents cold air from entering your home. You’ll feel warmer and might even be able to turn your heating down.'

This is a simple DIY task and if you haven't yet added any draught proofing to your windows and doors now is definitely the time. Team this with some good, thick thermal curtains or blinds and your windows will no longer be sucking the heat from your home.

FAQs

Should you insulate your hot water tank?

I have often meant to address this one myself and it is definitely something on my to-do list.

'If you have a hot water tank, make sure it’s well insulated,' advises Joanna O'Loan. 'Adding extra insulation to your tank keeps the water warmer for longer, If you have an older cylinder, it may only have 25mm thick foam insulation. By spending £16 to top this up with an 80mm insulation jacket, a typical home can save £40 each year on energy bills. You can buy these jackets from DIY shops and fit them yourself.

'If you’re waiting a long time for your water to heat up, this could be a sign you also need to top up the insulation on your hot water pipes,' adds Joanna. 'This will reduce heat loss and can be a DIY job. Insulating all the exposed hot water pipes in a typical semi-detached house will cost around £15 and save you £6 every year in the future on your bills. It sounds small, but all the small things add up to much bigger savings.'

Now is the time to prepare your home for winter – don't wait until weather conditions really deteriorate to make any upgrades.