Winter has finally arrived and with Christmas just around the corner there isn’t much time left before the coldest months of the year. Which leaves just enough time to make your place a warmer home for the winter with a few eco-friendly upgrades.

As the winters become more unpredictable across the nation, energy bills continue to soar. So homeowners have to cough up more just to keep the family warm – at the most expensive part of year for everyone. So now is the time to think about investing in warmer (and cheaper) winters for the future.

Far infrared heating

The obvious answer to creating a warmer home for less is to upgrade your heating system for something more efficient. There are a lot of options out there, but some work better than others – so it helps to know your heating systems.

To save you some research, let’s get straight to the point and highlight far infrared heating as the most efficient option. Infrared heaters don’t heat the air in a room like other system, but instead heat the surfaces of objects in a room. This is far more efficient because these objects conduct heat more effectively than air alone.

Smart meters, thermostats

Smart meters and thermostats are the next generation in household energy control. You will have seen ads for smart thermostats from the big energy suppliers in the UK already. The promise of controlling your heating system from your smartphone gives you full control over the heat of your home, no matter where you are.

Which means no heat is wasted on an empty house and you can make sure everyone walks into a warm home at the end of the day. While smart meters are a new device offered by suppliers that give you accurate readings on your gas and electricity use. The government backed devices show you exactly how much you are using in pounds and pence so you can keep tighter control on your energy spend. And these readings go directly to your energy supplier as well, which means you don’t have to worry about estimated bills any more.

Seal in the heat

With a more efficient heating system and smarter energy controls in place, all you need now is a tightly sealed home to keep all the heat in. Heat is a sneaky little thing and it will escape through any gap it can – and your windows, doors and loft are easy escape routes.

Luckily, you can seal in the heat with triple glazed windows and doors and improve your loft insulation with a greener approach. Triple glazing outperforms double and lasts much longer so you get a much better return on your spend, while denim insulation is an incredibly effective and eco-friendly approach to better roof insulation.