How Closing Your Shutters Helps Keep London’s Energy Costs Down

While householders battle to keep warm this winter, there are simple steps you can take to help keep your energy bills down – and shutters can help keep out the cold in London’s homes.

Bespoke Shutters’ at-a-glance energy saving guide comes after the Big Six energy firms – E.ON, EDF, British Gas, npower, SSE and Scottish Power – all announced price increases.

EDF’s price increases average at 3.9 per cent, whereas E.ON’s prices are set to rise by 6.6 percent, and the remaining four firms have announced average price hikes of around 9.1 percent.

With temperatures falling steadily, the impending rise is increasing the strain on householders struggling to keep on top of their bills.

Whether you live in an older style property or new build, even the smallest changes can make a difference, say Bespoke Shutters, and here are our top tips for keeping the heat in, and the cold out, this season:

Shutters London – click here for full information on our made-to-measure shutters.

Closing Your Shutters – Not all of you will close your shutters or curtains when it gets dark, especially if you are on a London street that is not overlooked, but turning this into a habit can make a major difference to your energy bills.

In a scheme funded by the Climate Challenge Fund, (2010) the Edinburgh World Heritage Trust used thermal imaging cameras to show just how much heat and energy is lost by keeping shutters open at night.

Images of properties that had their wooden shutters open glowed brightly in reds and oranges, showing just how much heat was escaping; however, properties that had their curtains or shutters closed were a deep blue colour – proving that they had successfully kept the heat indoors.

You can find out more about the project by following the link here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-11759023

Using Draught Excluders – While the project looked at closing shutters and full-length curtains, it didn’t rule out traditional methods of keeping warm.

Edinburgh World Heritage also advised on other tried and tested tips, such as the use of draught excluders, especially if you live in an older style home.

Chiara Ronchini, energy efficiency officer, said: “There are issues, of course, with historic buildings but they are so well designed they just need a little push to make sure they are performing as well as the most modern buildings.

“...very simple measures...can make a dramatic improvement on the amount of heat being lost through the windows.”

Getting Cosy with Throws and Blankets – If you are settling down to watch television, snuggling up under a blanket is another sure way of keeping fuel costs down.

Likewise, wearing slippers, warm socks, or putting on an extra layer of clothing will help keep chills at bay.

Warming Up in Front of an Open Fire – Not all homes have a real log fire or wood burning stove, but if you are lucky enough to have one it is well worth putting it to good use during the colder months. 

This will also give your home a cosy, welcoming feel, and your family will love to gather round it when the temperature drops.

However, there are some safety precautions to take first, and if you haven’t used your fireplace for a while, it’s best to organise a chimney sweep to clear out your chimney before use.

Closing Off Empty Rooms – If you have a spare bedroom, hobbies room or dining room that you rarely use, another way of keeping bills down is to turn the radiators off in these rooms, and close the doors.

By heating the rooms that you use the most in winter, and leaving out the ones you don’t, this will also help save cash.

Having guests over at Christmas or New Year? Just turn on the heating in your spare rooms the day before, so that the whole house is warm and inviting before your friends and family arrive.

About Bespoke Shutters

Bespoke Shutters provide and install high quality, made to measure shutters in the London area including solid shutters and plantation shutters.

Bespoke Shutters – click here for full information on our solid wood plantation shutters.