How To Keep Your House Warm In Winter
The best way to keep your house warm in winter is to stop the heat you already make from escaping. Seal the draughts around old doors and windows, then close curtains and internal doors at dusk. Steady heat from cast iron radiators then keeps a draught free house comfortable for longer.
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Key takeaways
- The best way to keep your house warm in winter is to stop the heat you already make from escaping.
- The cheapest way to keep your house warm is to stop heat leaking out before you pay for more.
- Cheap ways to keep your house warm are mostly small jobs that stop heat leaking or getting trapped.
- The easiest way to make your house warmer without a heater is to trap the warmth that’s already there.
- A poorly insulated house is easiest to keep warm when you fix the biggest leaks first.
- The 30-minute heating rule is to time your heating to start 30 minutes before you need warmth and stop 30 minutes before you leave or go to bed.
- Cast iron radiators keep giving out heat after the heating goes off, because the iron and the water inside are slow to cool.
What is the cheapest way to keep your house warm in the winter?
The cheapest way to keep your house warm is to stop heat leaking out before you pay for more. Old doors and windows are the usual culprits. The Energy Saving Trust says modern windows and doors with seals may already be draught proofed enough, but old ones may not be, and draught proofing is a job you may be able to do yourself.
On a windy day, hold the back of your hand near window frames, letterboxes and the gap under external doors. You’ll feel the leaks. Draught proofing a door costs little. Replacing a draughty window costs far more.
Leave trickle vents, ventilation grilles and wall vents open, because they let in the small amount of air a room needs. At dusk, draw heavy curtains and shut internal doors so the warm air stays where you’re sitting. If you’re wondering whether curtains really make a difference, they do, because a single layer of glass lets a lot of heat escape.
What are some cheap ways to keep my house warm?
Cheap ways to keep your house warm are mostly small jobs that stop heat leaking or getting trapped. Here are four that cost little or nothing:
- Keep radiators clear of furniture and long curtains, because a sofa in front of a radiator warms the sofa.
- Bleed any radiator that’s cold at the top, which usually means trapped air.
- Set your thermostat at the lowest comfortable level, which the Energy Saving Trust puts at 18°C to 21°C for most people.
- Keep those rooms above 16°C, because a colder home risks damp.
None of these needs a tradesperson, and each one makes the heat you already pay for go further.
How do I make my house warmer without a heater?
The easiest way to make your house warmer without a heater is to trap the warmth that’s already there. Open curtains on sunny windows by day and close them at dusk. Keep the kitchen door shut and use the extractor fan while you cook, so steam doesn’t spread to cooler rooms and condense.
Never use a gas cooker or oven to heat a room, because it’s inefficient and carries a carbon monoxide risk. Several thin layers keep you warmer than one thick one, according to NHS guidance. Use a hot water bottle or an electric blanket in bed, but not both at once.
How do I keep a poorly insulated house warm?
A poorly insulated house is easiest to keep warm when you fix the biggest leaks first. The Energy Saving Trust says an uninsulated home can lose around 25% of its heat through the roof, so the loft comes first.
Walls, floors and windows come next. Big jobs such as cavity wall insulation need an experienced installer, while draught proofing is one you can do yourself, though if your home is already fairly well draught proofed, extra sealing can harm air quality, so ask a professional when in doubt.
If you can’t do any of the bigger jobs, draught proofing and curtains still help. They won’t fix a loft that leaks heat through the roof, but they do cut the cold air coming in at floor level.
What is the 30 minute heating rule?
The 30 minute heating rule is to time your heating to start 30 minutes before you need warmth and stop 30 minutes before you leave or go to bed. Citizens Advice suggests it as a starting point to adjust from.
The better your house holds heat, the longer that last half hour of stored warmth lasts. A draughty house loses it fast and may need the heating on a little longer. A programmer handles the timing for you, and thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs) let each room hold its own temperature.
Do cast iron radiators keep a room warm for longer after the heating goes off?
Cast iron radiators keep giving out heat after the heating goes off, because the iron and the water inside are slow to cool. That slow release is thermal mass at work and it smooths the drop in temperature when the boiler stops.
How long it lasts depends on the radiator’s size, the room and how well the house holds heat, so we don’t give a fixed time. A draught proofed room keeps the benefit longer. Keeping a house warm is mostly about losing less heat, and a radiator that holds its warmth makes good use of the heat you keep.
If you’re not sure what size suits your room, use our free heat calculator and then contact our team.
Disclaimer: This guide on how to keep your house warm in winter is general UK guidance from October 2026. What suits your home depends on how it was built, so ask a qualified installer before you insulate, and never block a trickle vent or ventilation grille.
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