Save Some Pennies This Winter by Draught-Proofing Your Home

With the nation battling increasing energy bills, it’s becoming more and more crucial to find alternative ways to save money. Draught-proofing your property is one of the ways you can help to keep the heat inside your home during the colder months as well as helping to keep your money in your pocket.

What is draught-proofing exactly?

Draught-proofing means to seal any gaps present in your home to prevent cold air from entering. Gaps that cause cold spots and draughts can exist in different forms all around your home, such as cracks in structures, gaps in windows and even the spaces underneath doors. 

Why bother draught-proofing your home?

If the thought of saving your wallet from the trauma of being dented by energy bills wasn’t enough of a convincing factor, then allow us to list a few more reasons as to why draught-proofing your home is beneficial and will serve you positively.

• Helps keep your home warm
• Less energy is used, lowering your carbon footprint
• Affordable and easy to do yourself

How much does draught-proofing save?

Whilst there’s no magic number or fixed price of how much you’ll save on your energy bills with draught-proofing, it certainly does make an impact and helps you to save money in the long-term. 

Depending on the type of property you live in and whether you decide to draught-proof yourself or seek out professional help, the amount you save per year is estimated to be around £20-£50. Whilst it doesn’t seem much, it is certainly an improvement from the prices of energy bills. 

Your home’s draught ‘hotspots’ and how to close them

Most homes will have almost the same draft-prone spots but depending on the type of home you live in, you could be vulnerable to more than just the usual ones.

Essentially, any area where the outside air makes its way inside the home is open to introducing a draft inside. So what areas around the house are open to drafts and how do you close them? 

Doors (including keyholes and letterboxes)

Doors will be one of the first considerations as this is typically the main source of drafts. There are different areas of a door that can cause drafts. Here’s how you can combat those areas of doors:

Letterbox and keyholes: Use a cover or plate for keyholes and a draft-excluder brush for letterboxes

Gap at bottom of door: Use a draft-excluder brush or purchase a dedicated draught-excluder. Alternatively, you can use old or ruined clothes and bunch them up to fill the gaps at the bottom of doors.

Gap on sides of door: Use foam or rubber strips/sealant or the thin gaps on the sides of doors

Windows

Windows are another consideration that shouldn’t typically cause drafts if insulated properly or installed with double glazing. However, in the colder months windows can be more susceptible to drafts. For this, use foam, rubber, metal or plastic strips/sealant around the frame of the window. Alternatively, you can look to purchase thicker curtains to help prevent cold drafts. 

Flooring and skirting

Drafts that can sneak in through floor gaps and cracks in skirting boards can be fixed relatively easily with fillers and gap stoppers. However, if you’re looking for a more long-term solution to tackle floor draughts, you can look into investing in underfloor heating.

Floorboards: Use filler or caulk that can withstand constant movement to fill in the floorboard gas. Typically these will shrink as they begin to dry, allowing drafts to re-enter so it’s worth investing in airtight versions of filler. Additionally, you can look at purchasing products such as Stopgap to fill in gaps in your flooring. 

Skirting boards: Use sealant or fillings for any cracks in skirting. Remember to wipe off excess sealant before it dries.

Loft/attic hatch

Due to the fact that hot air rises, it can often get lost within the attic. Use a fabric or foam strip, similar to how you would with a door to block gaps around the edges of the loft hatch to prevent hot air from escaping. Most lofts have insulation installed but it’s worth looking into a more effective insulation if you find that drafts still come through via the attic. 

Wall cracks

Cracks in the interior walls of your home are not only problematic because they cause damage to your property’s infrastructure but they also make it easier for cold air to seep into your home. 

Use a filler or cement mixture to fill in smaller sized cracks in walls. This is the safest solution to making sure wires and electrics inside the walls are not impaired. If there are larger and more fragile cracks or fractures in your walls, seek out the assistance of a professional. 

Perfecting the balance between draught-proofing and ventilation

If you do take the plunge of committing to the DIY project of insulating and draught-proofing your home, don’t forget that your property will still need consistent air flow and stable ventilation to help with preventing dampness, mould and condensation.

Make sure that when you’re draught-proofing your home to not accidentally cover, block or fill forms of ventilation such as extractor fans or wall vents. 

When is it time to seek help with draught-proofing my home?

Whilst most of the ways to resolve draughts in the home are easy to do by yourself, some of the more troublesome fixes will require a professional to assist. It’s an individual choice whether to DIY the fixes or hire some help depending on preference and finances. Doing it yourself is much more cost-effective and mostly easy to do. However, the slightly more tasking fixes could cost more if errors are made and are just generally more time-consuming, making it worth just seeking out a professional. 

We’re able to offer support and heating services to keep your home warm and toasty all throughout the year. Get in touch with one of our gas safe registered engineers today.