If there’s one thing worse than long nights and short days in winter then it’s eye-watering energy bills.

Especially after Christmas when the temperature tends to plummet along with your bank balance.

If you could do with shaving a bit of money off your household bills like me then Contact Numbers UK is helping families do just that with a #WinterHeatingHelp campaign.

They’re specialists in helping you find phone numbers for companies like British Gas so that you can get advice on your energy bills and how to live more efficiently.

Of course they say if you want something done ask a mum, so I asked some fellow mums (and one dad) for top tips on clever ways they heat their homes without breaking the bank and here’s what they said.

Clever ways to heat your home without breaking the bank

1. Invest in a smart meter. “I’ve calculated it has reduced my heating bill by around 15%,” says Pete at Household Money Saving. “It will take a few years before it will pay back the outlay, but the convenience of being able to turn on the heating or hot water from anywhere is priceless!”

2. Put a curtain across the front door. “I was amazed at the difference it made for keeping the draft out and the heat in,” says Nadine at Then I Became Mum.

3. Keep the heating on low throughout the winter. “I find it way more cost effective than turning it on and off and our house stays at a warm temperature without cranking up our gas bill!” says Laura at Five Little Doves.

4. Only heat the room you’re in. “When working from home I usually have the heating on in just one room and turn all other radiators in the house off!” says Polly at Our Seaside Baby.

5. Seal the gaps around windows. “We use strong white duct tape to seal the gaps around the windows, which stops heat escaping and windy winds entering,” says Jemma at Mayflower Blogs.

6. Invest in underfloor heating. “We had underfloor heating and tiles installed when we did our extension,” says Emma at The Money Whisperer. “There are no radiators in that part of the house and the heating is only on for two hours in the morning – the tiles retain the heat for hours so it’s always toasty.”

7. Don’t heat areas of the house you spend less than 10 minutes in. “Why heat a hallway you are never in for more than one minute?” says Sinead at Sinead Latham.

8. Buy an electric clothes drier. “I bought a dry buddy to stop having wet laundry around the house all winter long,” says Luschka at Diary Of A First Child. “It’s cheaper than a tumble drier to run as it works on hot air, which means it takes longer than a tumble dryer, but also warms the main room up massively – with dry, already hung laundry as an added bonus!”

9. Close the curtains as soon as it gets dark. “It sounds simple but closing the curtains when it starts to get dark makes a huge difference, and if you can put thermal linings in your curtains too that is a huge help at retaining the heat inside,” says Lynne at New Mummy Blog.

10. Invest in an active heating system. “We have a Hive which is wonderful as you can so easily have the heating schedule set completely differently for each day, depending on who is home,” says Sophie at Life As Mrs D. “It was also great when I forgot to turn the heating and hot water off before we went away for Christmas. Quick click on my phone and it was off until the morning we came home, and the house had warmed up by the time we got back.”

Do you have any clever hacks for heating your home in winter without running up huge energy bills? I’d love to hear what they are!

This post was written in collaboration with Contact Numbers UK.

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