Terms of use dolor sit amet consectetur, adipisicing elit. Recusandae provident ullam aperiam quo ad non corrupti sit vel quam repellat ipsa quod sed, repellendus adipisci, ducimus ea modi odio assumenda.
Disclaimers
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipisicing elit. Sequi, cum esse possimus officiis amet ea voluptatibus libero! Dolorum assumenda esse, deserunt ipsum ad iusto! Praesentium error nobis tenetur at, quis nostrum facere excepturi architecto totam.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipisicing elit. Inventore, soluta alias eaque modi ipsum sint iusto fugiat vero velit rerum.
Limitation on Liability
Sequi, cum esse possimus officiis amet ea voluptatibus libero! Dolorum assumenda esse, deserunt ipsum ad iusto! Praesentium error nobis tenetur at, quis nostrum facere excepturi architecto totam.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipisicing elit. Inventore, soluta alias eaque modi ipsum sint iusto fugiat vero velit rerum.
Copyright Policy
Dolor sit amet consectetur adipisicing elit. Sequi, cum esse possimus officiis amet ea voluptatibus libero! Dolorum assumenda esse, deserunt ipsum ad iusto! Praesentium error nobis tenetur at, quis nostrum facere excepturi architecto totam.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipisicing elit. Inventore, soluta alias eaque modi ipsum sint iusto fugiat vero velit rerum.
General
Sit amet consectetur adipisicing elit. Sequi, cum esse possimus officiis amet ea voluptatibus libero! Dolorum assumenda esse, deserunt ipsum ad iusto! Praesentium error nobis tenetur at, quis nostrum facere excepturi architecto totam.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipisicing elit. Inventore, soluta alias eaque modi ipsum sint iusto fugiat vero velit rerum.
Join 10k+ people to get notified about new posts, news and tips.
Do not worry we don't spam!
GDPR Compliance
We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, Privacy Policy, and Terms of Service.
Which is the cheapest way to heat your home this winter?
The Met Office forecasters have issued several yellow weather warnings for snow, ice and fog across Britain for Monday, set to continue through to Thursday.
To calculate the current typical heating cost, if you divide that by 12, that’s £208 a month â so over the six months from mid-October to mid-April would be £1,250
However, the figure is actually likely to be higher because households typically use the bulk of their energy in the winter months.
So which way is the cheapest to heat your home up?
Do note the below costs are just estimates â how much you spend depends on the size of your home, which models you own and how often you use them.
And you might need to keep the heating on for longer if you suffer from health conditions, but there’s help you can get with costs which you can learn about here.
Keep in mind you’ll also have to buy the appliance first if you don’t have it â so do factor in those costs.
Electric blanket
Most people use electric blankets under their sheets to heat their bed before they get in it.
According to research from Uswitch, these gadgets use 100 watts of energy to warm a double bed before switching to a sleep setting or being turned off.
A 100W electric blanket run for seven hours a week would use 0.7kWh.
Based on the current cap, it costs 24p to run a 100W electric blanket for one hour a day for seven days.
If you were to use an electric blanket for one hour a day, every day of the week for a year, it would cost you £12.48 in total.
But using an electric blanket instead of turning the heating up could still save you cash off your bill, Uswitch energy expert Sarah Broomfield said.
“Using an electric blanket to warm the bed may mean you can turn the temperature of your thermostat down, as you won’t need your bedroom to be so hot.
And remember, the actual cost of energy will depend on your tariff and how long you use your appliances for.
Hot water bottle
The average hot water bottle has a capacity of 1.5 litres, or six cups, and will stay warm for hours.
But you will need energy to heat that water up in the first place.
It’s not advisable to put boiling water into a hot water bottle, as this can corrode the rubber and cause leaks.
However, you can put nearly boiling water in there â so by all means fill the kettle up, but leave it to cool slightly before transferring the liquid to your hot water bottle.
Using a hot water bottle cover or simply wrapping a towel or blanket around it will help keep the heat in for longer, and ensure it’s not too hot to touch.
To fill six cups of water, enough to fill a hot water bottle, this will cost £5.81 â this is if you just use the bottle at night â for 91 nights.
If you filled your hot water bottle once in the morning, and again at night, this will cost you £10.92 for the same period.
As far as we can tell, they’re not too expensive to buy either.
We found a hot water bottle from Asda for as little as £3.
There’s also one from Argos which costs £4.25.
Electric heater
An electric heater is a plug-in device that works as electricity is passed through a resistor and converted into heat.
The portable appliances are usually cheap and seem like an obvious solution to staying warm.
Because you can apply the heat directly at you and warm up just the room you’re using, you’d think it would be a cheaper alternative to turning on the heating.
But actually, these types of heaters actually use a lot more energy than you think.
According to price comparison site Uswitch, a plug-in electric heater uses around three kilowatt hours of energy (kWh).
The current price cap sets a limit of 34p per kWh.
So if you were looking at the maximum you could be charged to use an electric heater, you would multiply 34p by three, because that’s the number of kWh it uses.
This means per hour it would cost you £1.02 to run.
If you leave it on for an evening while you’re watching TV for, say, four hours, it will cost £4.08.
That’s £28.56 a week and a whopping £114.24 a month.
That’s more than it would have been with the previous price cap, when average energy prices were 28p per kWh.
Of course, this is the maximum you would pay per kilowatt of energy, and you’re unlikely to use an electric heater all throughout the year.
Just because electric heaters might cost you less, there are still risks to consider when using them.
These include keeping it well away from flammable objects like paper, furniture or curtains, and never using it to dry your clothes.
See a full list of risks to keep in mind here.
In terms of purchasing costs, we found one from Screwfix for £19.99.
Argos sells one for £32 and Amazon has one for £11.59 â so do browse around.
Log burner
A log burner seems like an obvious alternative to turning the heating, and it’s much cosier too.
The Stove Industry Alliance (SIA) estimates that a wood burning stove uses about five logs to heat, compared to a open fire which uses 16.
This saving will further increase as fuel prices continue to rise, it adds.
Of course, it’s worth pointing out that a log burner won’t heat your entire home so it can’t be considered a direct comparison.
A log burner will, however, soon heat up the room it sits in and residual heat will spread to other rooms too.
When working out costings, you need to look at the price of wood.
According to the SIA, the cost of burning kiln dried logs is between £150 to £190 per cubic meter (loose fill).
The average modern wood burning stove will use around 3.5 cubic metres (m3) of logs in a typical heating season if you have the burner on at evenings and weekends.
Therefore, based on annual wood log usage of between 3-4 cubic meters, the total cost would be approximately £600 to £700 a year.
They are a bit pricier to buy as well.
Dunelm sells one for £80, but there’s also one on the Amazon website that costs £22.99.
Make sure you check the size as well when you buy â if it’s cheaper, it might be because it’s a mini one.
The scheme is where eligible households can get £150 off their electricity bill each winter â but you’ll have to wait until the colder months to get the money off.
Households in England and Wales don’t need to apply to get the cash and they’ll automatically qualify if they are receiving certain benefits.
You can read more about who’s eligible here.
There are plenty of energy grants and schemes open to help you out if you’re struggling.