With February feeling colder than ever, heating your home can be a long and expensive process. We’ve all been layered up in a thick hoodie under a blanket waiting for the radiators to finally provide some warmth but one mistake that many of us make could actually be costing us in our bill.
As of last month, it was revealed the average household is paying around £1,737 per year on their energy bill, another rise on the previous 12 months and taking a hefty chunk out of anyone’s pay check. Financial pressure is continuing to increase on homes making simply staying warm an often hard task, but a few techniques can help to relieve the burden.
British Gas engineer Sunny Solanky has revealed that moving some furniture away from your radiators could help your rooms warm up. Many of us are guilty of cramming a sofa, bed or chair up against a radiator to try and maximise the space in the room but that could be harming your bill.
Furniture close to the radiator can block the convection currents around a room, stopping heat from easily being circulated around and taking it longer for the room to warm. Ideally, a gap of around 15 to 30 cm should be given away from each radiator to allow for heat to easily spread across the room if possible furniture should be positioned to the side of the radiator instead of directly in front.
Moving the furniture away could also save the furnishings themselves, as direct exposure to high heat can damage furniture over time. The simple trick could save you up to 10 per cent on your heating bill, creating a huge saving over time.
Another handy tip to make it feel warmer is to move your sofas or chairs away from external walls. Those sitting on them will likely feel the cold more.
Putting furniture against internal walls should keep homeowners feeling nice and toasty and make Britons feel more heat throughout the house. A corner sofa, for example, could make a room feel warmer because there will be less space.