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I’m looking to lower our electricity and gas bills but keep our house warm in winter.


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  • Thick curtains help immensely (we got separate sun block liners for summer and it helps insulate in winter too so we keep them all year). Carpets are better than tiles, so get rugs if you can for those spots that are hard and bare; soft coverings on walls (like those hanging craft quilts) seem to help too, especially making a bedroom feel warmer. Plus as others have said just rug up and if you are fit and well just keep moving (lifting a small weight and doing a few skips with the rope help me feel warm if I start to chill). It’s easier to keep yourself warm than heat a whole room or house.


  • Wearing more clothing indoors and ugg boots helps.


  • we have ducted heating. We always rug up first with clothes and blankets. If the heater is turned on it sits at 17 degrees and blinds, drafts and doors are closed to keep warmth in. Heater is never run over night.


  • We don’t use any heaters in winter and it can get pretty cold in Perth. Rugging up helps and not going bare foot also helps. When we watch tv and relax at night we just use a blanket and I always wear slippers. Shutting doors on unused rooms helps and also closing curtains. If you are home through the day try to not use a heater and do activities like cleaning your house, tidying up, sorting out cupboards, it does keep you warm.


  • We have lived in the same house for over twenty years and our electricity bill has never been over $300. I don’t know how we do it, everyone else is complaining about how high their bills are, we don’t do anything special though. I’m just amazed!


  • Putting hot water system on a timer helps


  • Close the curtains when it starts to get dark. I put on the heating just at breakfast time (it’s so dark when we wake up and cold) and before dinner, so we can have dinner at the table in the warm room and another hour or so after that. We have a gas heater that makes it cheaper than electricity. If you use the oven for dinner, leave the door open when it’s ready.
    And we have solar panels, that saved us really a lot of money.


  • Make sure all doors are closed and use draught excluders to keep the cold out and the warmth in. After cooking, leave the oven door open to expel the remaining heat into the room. Thick curtains/blinds over the windows. Layer up to keep in your body heat. Turn any fans to winter mode. Use candles instead of lights where you can (it’s always tempting to put more lights on in winter!) Switch all electrical items off at the mains when not in use (they really do keep using electricity even when off/in standby mode!) If you have ducted heating, turn off vents in the rooms you don’t use.


  • Blinds open when the sun is on the house and closed as soon as it isn’t. Keep doors shut so heat isn’t escaping and close off any drafts. Keeping lots of blankets around so you are cozy when you are still but don’t have to have the heat too high helps to.


  • We use timers on our heaters and make sure we open blinds to let natural light and heat in during the day but ensure they are closed before dark to keep the heat in.


  • For the first time this winter, we have cut down on showers times to 4mins per person – using a timer. We have a electrical HWS and so far saved $100.


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