- Pipes are less likely to freeze if you keep the heating on, so if you’re not going to be in, just keep it on low.
- Schedule your heating so it only gets turned up when you really need it.
- Before the cold winter weather, lower your bills and get used to the drop in temperature by turning the thermostat down by 1°C.
Help prevent damage to your home in winter
Tips to protect your home from the cold during the winter freeze
How to get ready when winter's coming
Check for drips around the house
A leaky pipe could lead to more serious problems. Keep an eye out for cracked, rusty or discoloured pipework and joins. When you run the taps, does the water flow freely?
Repair taps
If there’s a drip, you’ll want to get it sorted. Getting a plumber in to fix any taps, showers and toilets showing signs of leaking should help stop your pipes freezing.
Cover water tanks and pipes
With ready-made lagging to help insulate and avoid freezing. This is especially useful in colder places, like lofts, basements, your garage and outbuildings. And don’t forget outdoor taps and pipes!
Grit footpaths and walkways
To keep them ice-free and help stop anyone slipping and hurting themselves. You could also use sand or salt.
Light the way
Make sure your outdoor areas are well lit for safe access. If you already have lighting, now’s the time to check it’s still in good working order.
Stop the cold air getting in
By adding weather strips or insulating foam around windows, and draught excluders for your doors. They’re not expensive and can improve energy efficiency so might actually end up saving you money in the long run.
Remember, you’ll stay warmer if you heat yourself as well as your home, so avoid staying still for long periods if you can help it, and warm up with an extra jumper, something to eat and a nice hot drink.
Remember to keep an eye on the weather
Read the Met Office blog or follow them on social media.
Watch out for heavy rain, high winds and any potential fog, snow or ice.
Stay up to date with Met Office warnings so you’re aware of severe weather up to 7 days in advance.
What do the Met Office colour warnings mean?
Met Office warnings contain a headline, what you can expect and guidance on what to do to stay safe during severe weather events. The warnings can be yellow, amber or red.
Yellow – normally indicates weather will cause some disruption but the impact may be low.
Amber – means there’s a high chance of disruption and you may need to take action to protect yourself and your home.
Red – is the strongest warning and means there’s a very high chance of dangerous weather with the potential of causing serious damage. You’ll need to take precautions and follow advice from your local authorities and the emergency services.
Winter energy-saving tips
Using your energy wisely and generally being more efficient during cold weather can help to keep your costs down when it comes to your energy consumption.
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Money-saving tips for your heating
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Money-saving tips for your lighting
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Money-saving tips for your electricals
- Use long-life, energy-saving LEDs instead of the older style light bulbs.
- Turn lights off when you don’t need them.
- Lamps tend to use less energy than a room’s main lighting.
- Reduce dimmer switches when you don’t need the lights on high.
- Lights that automatically switch themselves off when you’re not there could also help reduce bills.
- Keep fridges and freezers set to the right temperature – check the user manual.
- Set your washing machine to 30°C instead of 40°C – your clothes will be just as clean.
- Things like TVs, computers and games consoles use energy up when they’re in standby mode – switch them all the way off when you’re not using them.
How to prepare boilers and plumbing for the cold
Many boiler guarantees require them to be serviced regularly and it’s always a good idea to get boilers and thermostats checked by a professional before winter, when you’ll want your heating to be working properly.
Newer boilers are normally more efficient than the old ones – plus they’re less likely to break down and winter is when we put the most stress on our boilers.
Check your radiators – once they’ve heated up, if you notice cold patches at the top, you’ve probably got some trapped air and you’ll need to bleed them.
Your stopcock can stop the flow of water following a serious leak. You’ll need to know where this internal tap (or valve) is in case of emergency, so it’s a good idea to try it out to see if it works. These taps sometimes get stiff over time so try to turn it on and then off again a number of times to ease any stiffness.
Keep an eye on your water meter so you’ll know if it’s unusually high. An automatic leak detector can do this for you and can even turn your water off when a leak’s found.