Filed under: Home Furnishings, Home Improvement | Tags: curtains, energy efficiency, energy saving, Home Furnishings
Good afternoon once again to all readers of my UK Homes blog. I don’t know about what you guys may think on the subject, but it definitely seems to me that across the whole online home improvement industry at the moment there seems to be a growing concern of making more and more products that help to make a home more green or eco friendly. From what I have found, these products can range from highly complicated and expensive devices (such as solar panels fitted to your roof in order to harness the suns natural energy and heat your water tank in an eco friendly manner), to the more simple and straightforward methods you can use to make your home more energy efficient. Indeed, I believe that the simplest and most cost effective way you can do this is to fit good quality curtains and home furnishings in your house which will help to keep the heat in and therefore allow you to use much less energy on central heating – this is a particularly advisable tip if you do not have double glazing fitted. You will probably find that this method also has a major advantage in that you can get a very good return on your investment and ultimately save money on your heating bills (which seems to be an even greater concern given the difficult economic climate many of us are facing at the moment) for a relatively small outlay on products such as new curtains, drapes draft excluders and the like. Please see some of the older posts on my blog for more energy saving tips you can use around the house and help save the environment and your wallet today.
Filed under: Home Improvement, Tools | Tags: energy bills, energy efficiency, energy saving, solar power
Regular readers of my DIY blog will be fully aware that I like nothing better than moaning about the rubbish weather we receive so frequently here in the north of England, so here is a post for all you cheerful chaps that are lucky enough to get regular bright sunshine! Blog readers living in more warmer clients may be interested to know about how they can take advantage of these high levels of sunlight around their homes with baxi solar heating systems. These systems are a great way to heat you pool or home and beat the spiralling prices of energy and heating bills. Why not also check out a high efficiency water heater to help reduce your energy usage and make your home much more efficient and environmentally friendly? You can even utilise these very clever central cooling systems to help cool your homes during the very hot periods of the summer months. There are so many energy efficient products available to use in your home – now all I need is some sunshine!
Filed under: Home Improvement | Tags: energy, energy bills, energy efficiency, energy saving
Lets face it, at this time of year here in the UK it is freezing cold pretty much 24/7 with temperatures nationwide barely climbing much higher than 2 or 3 degrees centigrade, even during the day. It is therefore no doubt all but a necessity to use the central heating in your home very frequently – and at our house we are no different. Unfortunately, utility companies across the board all seem to have made well publicised increases in their energy prices over the last year or so. My personal tip to combat these price rises in this turbulent financial period is to compare energy prices online to find the best deal suitable for your home. Indeed, a good friend of mine over in the states has saved himself a fistful of presious dollars by simply taking the time to compare Houston electric rates to find the best deal for his home. My home improvement blog has also previously covered some excellent ways of saving energy around the home – such as using draft excluders and installing insulation in your loft which I would highly recommend using too to help cut energy costs.
Filed under: DIY, Home Improvement | Tags: energy saving, environment, green, home, printing, study
I’ve spent a lot of time over the last few weeks in my study at home producing a large number of paper brochures and handouts for work and can’t help but think there is a lot of waste involved in doing the work in this way. As some of you will know from reading my blog, I am very much concerned with addressing energy saving and environmental issues around the home whenever possible. I’ve since discovered that there are actually a number of environmentally sound professional green printing services out there on the web that can do the same job more efficiently not only in terms of time but also in a more eco friendly way. I’m thinking of trying them out for some of my future projects rather than doing all my printing in my study at home. That would then free up for time to do all the hundreds of DIY jobs I’ve been putting off for some weeks now! Maybe you can help out the planet too by using green printing services.
Filed under: Home Furnishings | Tags: curtains, energy bills, energy saving, ready made curtains
Here’s a nice and easy home improvement tip to help you all survive the cold of the UK winter over the coming months. It seems to be a little known fact that you can actually save a lot of money and also the environment too simply by fitting some good quality reasonably thick ready made curtains to all the windows of your house. This will help keep the heat in your house for longer during the colder months, thus cutting down on the amount of central heating required to warm your rooms. So what are you waiting for? A quick and easy way to not only save you money but also help out the environment is at your fingertips.
Filed under: Home Furnishings | Tags: central heating, energy saving, home, warm, winter
As any of you readers of my blog based in the UK will no doubt be painfully aware – it is FREEZING outside, and yes I realise it will be a lot colder come February. The problem with this country as much as I love it is that our summers are cold but the winters colder – even when I’m inside the house with the heating blasting out on full. Sometimes I think I should take my DIY ideas somewhere a little warmer…the gilroy real estate area seems to be a fairly warm spot. I bet all the residents living the dream life in their palm springs homes have to worry about the rising costs of central heating this winter. Ah well, guess we can only dream eh? One day maybe I’ll run away to a new home across the pond!
Filed under: Home Improvement | Tags: energy bills, energy saving, windows
Good morning once again DIY blog readers. I awoke this morning to a letter from the landlord of my house informing me of some excellent news. It seems that we are set to receive some of the best replacement windows money can buy! Indeed, we will soon be visited by a specialist to measure up our house for some beutifully finished new wood replacement windows – these are some very high quality double glazing pains and frames which are much thicker than our current windows and should therefore be massively helpful in keeping the heat in our house over the colder months of the year. Indeed, with the temperatures rapidly dropping here in the UK this new addition to the house will be very welcome indeed, and can also potentially save us a considerable of money on our heating bills and therefore the environment too. Energy efficiency is a massive part of saving money and there are also a lot of other DIY methods you can do this – check out my other posts on this topic to see how you can improve your home today!
Filed under: DIY, Home Improvement | Tags: energy saving, fibreglass, heat, House, insulation, loft, roof, winter
Here’s a great DIY tip to help you save money, energy and the environment during the winter months by keeping the heat in your house. Spending a bit of time ensuring that you have proper insulation in your house’s loft is a vital part of maximising the energy efficiency of your home. You can visit your local DIY store to get hold of the appropriate insulation materials. Typically, these can include roll out fibreglass matting or various loose fill substances. Please note that if you use the fibreglass insulation always wear gloves and thick clothing as its fibres can make your skin extremely itchy and irritable. Before applying the insulation materials, ensure the areas you are applying it to in your loft are reasonably clean and free of dust. Fill in any surrounding nooks and crannies in the roofing with scrap paper or rags and consider adding a layer of plywood to the desired area before unravelling the insulation matting from the edge first, then carefully and smoothly towards the centre of your loft. when it is unraveled to the centre cut the material carefully with scissors or a sharp knife. You may also consider adding a piece to your loft hatch, but wrap it in plastic first to ensure the hatch maybe easily handled.
I hope you find this DIY blog post useful this winter. It’s sure to be another cold one here in the UK. You can also read through my other related DIY blog posts on this topic for useful information and tips on keeping the heat in your house this winter by using quality curtains and draft excluders.
Filed under: Home Improvement | Tags: blinds, curtains, energy bills, energy saving, roller blinds, venetian blinds
When it comes to keeping the heat in your house in winter, a straightforward problem which is often overlooked is finding something practical yet pleasing to the eye to cover your home’s windows (which surprisingly leak out so much heat). While often picked purely for their decorative quality, simple home improvement catalogue favorites such as thick good quality curtains and (for the more contemporary type) venetian or roller blinds can actually help you save money on your heating bills. Combine them with draft excluders and good quality insulation in your loft and other areas of the home today and not only can you do your bit for the environment, you can pocket a few extra pennies too!
Filed under: Home Furnishings | Tags: doors, draft excluder, draught excluder, energy bills, energy saving, House, winter
With winter fast drawing in here in the UK, many people such as myself will be starting to think about the potential impact of rising energy and utility bills in our homes. Fortunately, there are a number of simple and cheap ways you can try and save energy, your wallet and the environment around your house. The addition of a draught excluder to the bottom of your doors and applying wire draught excluders in the letter box may sound very straightforward, but is actually a very cost effective method of combating the winter chill. You can also get draught excluding tape to apply to tricky areas, to seal in the heat of your home. With such a massive range of designs available from the cheap and functional to just plain crazy, you will be able to find something to suit your needs either online or from your local DIY shop for less than the price of a night out.
