Help with Energy Bills
10 Cold Weather Home Hacks by Confused Energy
- Draught excluders for doors: Fill gaps around closed doors with draught excluders to prevent warm air from escaping and cold air from entering. You can get different types of draught excluders, from brush strips to decorative cushioned pieces. Or you could make one from an old pair of jeans by stuffing a leg and sewing the ends.
- Check for draughts with a candle: Find drafts in windows and other areas using a candle. If the flame flickers, there's likely a draft. Fix this by applying draught excluder strips to window frames, following the provided instructions.
- Seal gaps with caulk: Get rid of drafts by filling gaps with caulk. It's like a paste that hardens and closes openings.
- Use curtains wisely: During the day, keep your curtains open to make the most of the sunlight’s warmth. At night, or during colder parts of the day, close the curtains and blinds to improve insulation and keep heat in.
- Close doors to empty rooms: Seal off unused rooms by shutting their doors. This helps to keep the warmth contained within the rooms that you’re using.
- Capture cooking heat: Capture excess heat generated during cooking activities, such as steam, frying, or oven usage, to warm your living space. After cooking, open the oven door to release residual heat into your home.
- Rugs for warmer floors: Combat potential heat loss through tiled floors or floorboards by investing in rugs. Consider shaggy or heavyweight pile rugs, possibly with added underlay or insulation, to trap warm air and enhance insulation.
- Move furniture for better heating: Make sure furniture isn't blocking your radiators. This can minimise the amount of heat let out into the room. If you can't move it, try using reflectors or fans to help the heat spread around.
- Use heating smartly: Instead of maintaining a low heating setting all day, utilise a timer to activate heating 30 minutes before you need it. Then, deactivate it 30 minutes before you don’t need it. If you’re working from home, identify key chilly periods and manage your heating around this for optimal efficiency.
- Adjust the thermostat slightly: Lower your thermostat by 1 or 2 degrees, as recommended by the Energy Saving Trust. This combined with other energy saving techniques could result in a 10% reduction in energy bills.
Our Newham Money
The Council’s financial wellbeing service, Our Newham Money provides hardship support, debt advice, income maximisation guidance and much more:
112-118 The Grove, E15 1NS
020 8430 2041
www.ournewhammoney.co.uk/
ournewhammoney@newham.gov.uk
Stay Warm in Newham
Stay Warm in Newham offer free advice on saving energy and water, assistance applying for financial support available, as well as home visits with free installation of small energy-saving measures:
Renewal Programme, 395 High Street North, E12 6PG (Every Tues 11 am-1 pm)
03003653005
www.groundwork.my.salesforce-sites.com/staywarminnewham
Energy Advice London
Energy Advice London is helping Londoners with free advice on saving energy and water, reducing energy bills, accessing financial support, installing renewables and more:
0808 196 8260
www.energyadvice.london
SHINE London
SHINE London provide a dedicated helpline to ensure households can maximise their energy efficiency and reduce their energy bills:
0300 555 0195 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm)
www.shine-london.org.uk/
shine@islington.gov.uk
Energy Company Obligation (ECO)
ECO is a scheme offering energy-saving improvements to eligible households. You may be able to get free insulation work or upgrades to your heating:
02085941117
For more information regarding ECO please visit Energy and sustainability – Newham Council
Free loft insulation
Free loft insulation available through the Connected for Warmth scheme, all properties in council tax band A-D are eligible to apply: www.connectedforwarmth.org.uk/apply-for-insulation
For more information regarding energy and sustainability please visit Save Energy and Keep Warm – Energy and sustainability – Newham Council