How a £5 roll of insulation tape can shave £45 off your energy 法案 - we try DIY winter tricks

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世帯 energy prices are 始める，決める to rise in January, 追加するing an extra £94, or 5 per cent, to a typical 年次の 法案.?

The new price cap, 始める，決める by the energy regulator Ofgem, will see 世帯s 支払う／賃金 a 法外な £1,928 a year on 普通の／平均（する）.

But 改善するing the insulation in your home could 反対する the price rise ― and even 減ずる your 年次の 法案s.

Here, help is at 手渡す with simple DIY 解答s to winterproof your home, which will keep the heat in and your 法案s 負かす／撃墜する.?

With advice from Duncan Bean-Gordon from home 改良 蓄える／店 Wickes, Adele reporter Cooke fits heat-saving 道具s at home, and Energy Saving 信用 shows how much you can save.

Mind the gaps: Reporter Adele Cooke 任命する／導入するs 草案 excluder around a window でっちあげる，人を罪に陥れる with help from 専門家 Duncan Bean-Gordon

Make it count at the 最高の，を越す

In homes without loft insulation, a ４半期/4分の1 of the heat escapes through the roof, によれば Energy Saving 信用.

だいたい 7.9 million UK homes are 現在／一般に under-絶縁するd, but 70 per cent of these could easily be 改善するd with 基準 loft insulation, it says.

This form of heat-loss 予防 is one of the most cost-効果的な ways to stop energy wastage and can help to create an even 気温 in your home.

Once 任命する／導入するd, loft insulation should 支払う／賃金 for itself several times over during its 40-year lifetime.

Wickes’ Bean-Gordon says: ‘It costs about £77 to fully 絶縁する the 普通の／平均（する） loft of a three-bedroom home, which will need about three rolls of insulation.’

Before starting, make sure there is a gap between the eaves of your roof, which overhang the 塀で囲むs of your house, and the roof 山の尾根 to 許す 空気／公表する to 循環させる 適切に inside the attic.

When choosing a type of insulation, check how 平易な it is to 接近 your attic, and 計器 its moisture level by looking for condensation or damp 位置／汚点／見つけ出すs.

If you already have damp, 任命する／導入するing new insulation could make it worse, so check the damp level in your attic first with a moisture メーター (from £24 at Wickes). The reading should be at 0?per cent to 15 per cent moist ure before fitting.

UK building 規則s recommend an insulation depth of around 270mm.

If a home has no loft insulation, then 任命する／導入するing 270mm of new insulation could save £250 a year on your energy 法案s.?

If you already have loft insulation, just by 増加するing the thickness from 120mm to 270mm, you could save around £25 a year.?

You can buy a 100mm roll of loft insulation for about £23, and 170mm rolls from Wickes or B&Q cost from £24.

When you are ready, roll out the insulation on the 床に打ち倒す and 手段 it to fit the dimensions of the attic space, before cutting it with kitchen scissors.

Money saver: In homes without loft insulation, a ４半期/4分の1 of the heat escapes through the roof

Put an end to draughts

Around 21 per cent of heat lost in the home is from doors and windows.

‘Draught proofing is one of the easiest ways to 削減（する） your energy 法案s,’ says Angela Terry of energy advice company One H ome.

Draught-proofing your windows and doors, 含むing all 内部の ones, can help to 妨げる heat from escaping, which means that it takes いっそう少なく energy to heat your home. Doing so could save you around £45 a year.

‘A roll of 草案 insulation tape costs around £5 to £10 and takes seconds to put on the inside でっちあげる，人を罪に陥れる of your doors or around your windows ― and it can make a big difference,’ she 追加するs.

Bean-Gordon advises me to 適用する the insulation tape as tightly as possible into the でっちあげる，人を罪に陥れるs.

I 削減（する） the long white （土地などの）細長い一片s of insulation to size, then peel 支援する the plastic 支援 on the underside and 圧力（をかける） the 泡，激怒すること tape against the inside of my door でっちあげる，人を罪に陥れる to 安全な・保証する it at the 味方する, 最高の，を越す and 底（に届く）.

I’m impressed by how 平易な it is to stick insulation tape to the inside of the doors in the bathroom and 公共事業（料金）／有用性 room in my Georgian home in Hammersmith, West London. I had 推定する／予想するd it to be much 厚い, so am surprised that it is so 効果的な.

There’s enough insulation in the roll I bought for £4.79 from B&Q to cover the inside of four doors, and then I finish another roll when I stick tape to the inside of four window でっちあげる，人を罪に陥れるs.

In total, this DIY 職業 takes me いっそう少なく than 30 minutes and, on a breezy autumn morning, my home すぐに feels a balmy few degrees warmer.

A chimney draught excluder is another cheap and cheerful way to put a stop to pe sky draughts ―特に in period 所有物／資産／財産s, 示唆するs Ms Terry.

A removable chimney balloon 作品 by 封鎖するing the airflow, stopping warm 空気／公表する from 存在 sucked out of your home.

To 任命する／導入する, just place the 捕らえる、獲得する about a foot up inside your chimney and then inflate it by blowing into the long plastic tube. They are made from 最高の-strong plastic, so should not burst.

Although I find it a little fiddly to get the balloon into position at first, once it’s 堅固に wedged in place it stays put and I can no longer feel a draught in my living room.

Bean-Gordon says that Wickes sells around 1,800 of these draught excluders 毎年.

To 除去する the balloon, 簡単に open the 弁 at the neck and deflate it before pulling it out of the chimney.

Cheap and 効果的な: Insulation 包む can be 直す／買収する，八百長をするd inside door and window でっちあげる，人を罪に陥れるs to stop 草案s??

The balloons come in different sizes, so use a headtorch to check the 形態／調整 and size of your chimney before buying one.

Then using a 手段ing tape 手段 the gap between the two 平行の 塀で囲むs.

Fitting a chimney balloon can save you around £65 a year. Prices start from £18.50 to £20.50 from DIY 蓄える／店s such as Wickes, B&Q and Homebase.

Bean-Gordon also recommends that homeowners who live in a draughty 所有物／資産／財産 should try 任命する／導入するing door 小衝突 draught excluders.?

You have to attach these （土地などの）細長い一片s to the 底（に届く） of your door ― they will 妨げる 冷淡な 空気／公表する from seeping into your home through gaps. Prices start at £6.79 at DIY shop Screwfix.

Keep your water 麻薬を吸うs warm

A hot water cylinder 蓄える／店s water after it has been heated by your boiler system, so it’s important that it’s kept as warm as possible to make sure you can have a hot にわか雨 whenever you want.

Most water cylinders in the UK have some form of insulation lagging, but those covered with a hot water 戦車／タンク jacket that 対策 いっそう少なく than 25mm could 利益 from 付加 insulation to stop heat escaping.

増加するing the 量 of insulation around your hot water cylinder from 25mm to 80mm could save you around £45 a year.

And surrounding your hot water 戦車／タンク with an 80mm insulation jacket, which costs about £22 によれば Wickes, could save you around £200 a year.

手段 the 直径 of your cylinder and check its 容積／容量 before 購入（する）ing a jacket to make sure it fits snugly.

Another 選択 is to 包む any exposed hot water 麻薬を吸うs with insulation 泡，激怒すること, which? Bean-Go rdon says can help to keep water warm as it flows around your home.

Doing this, he says, will take me いっそう少なく than an hour and can make a saving of around £6 a year.

First, pinpoint where the 麻薬を吸うs are coming into your 所有物／資産／財産 ― 地雷 are in the 公共事業（料金）／有用性 room, hidden in a cupboard next to the washing machine.

I had thought it might be a 複雑にするd 過程, as I’d never done something like this before, but it’s very 平易な to 包む the 泡，激怒すること around the 麻薬を吸うs (though take care ― they can be hot), once I had 手段d them and 削減（する） them to size.

You can 選ぶ up 22 metres of 麻薬を吸う insulation from DIY 蓄える／店s from £1.97 ― which was enough to cover all my boiler 麻薬を吸うs.

If you have small gaps around your 麻薬を吸うs, you could fill them in with silicone fillers, 示唆するs Bean-Gordon, which he says can help to 妨げる その上の heat loss.

Prices for the silicone fillers start from £2.99 at Screwfix.

a.cooke@dailymail.co.uk

Are 直す／買収する，八百長をするd energy 関税s 価値（がある） it??

As energy prices are 始める，決める to rise again, 世帯s 直面する a 堅い 決定／判定勝ち（する）.?

Either stay on your energy provider’s 基準 variable 関税 with the price cap 始める，決める by Ofgem, or switch to a 直す／買収する，八百長をするd-率 関税, which 保証（人）s a 始める，決める price per 部隊 of energy for the duration of the 取引，協定.

The 二重の 燃料 energy 法案 for a typical 世帯 is capped at £1,834 a year, but from January it will rise by £94.?

Time to switch??The 二重の 燃料 energy 法案 for a typical 世帯 is capped at £1,834 a year, but from January it will rise by £94

Only one 直す／買収する，八百長をするd 取引，協定 is 確認するd to give a saving on the 現在の price cap, によれば price comparison website Uswitch.?

The 公共事業（料金）／有用性 倉庫／問屋 直す／買収する，八百長をするd Saver 10 costs the 普通の／平均（する） 世帯 £1,815 a year.?

But 顧客s must 調印する up to two other 製品s ― 保険, 動きやすい or broadband services ― to qualify.?

EDF Energy, OVO and British Gas 申し込む／申し出 直す／買収する，八百長をするd 関税s that （警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域 the January price cap, but only to 存在するing 顧客s.

Energy 分析家 Cornwall Insight 推定する／予想するs the cap to 落ちる to £1,816 in April and then to £1,793 in July.?

Gareth Kloet, at comparison website Go Compare, says: ‘I would sit and wait, if you can afford to.’

l.evans@dailymail.co.uk

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