Reducing your utility bills is more important now than it has been for a long time, with energy bills becoming very expensive over the last few years. Therefore, you need to find ways to keep your home warmer for less.
Here are the best strategies to decrease your heating costs at home with help from Homefire, a premier supplier of solid fuel in the UK.
Switch from Mains Gas
External influences often dictate the gas supply price in our homes, and there isn't much we can do about it. However, choosing an alternative way to heat your home is better than tolerating regular price increases.
Many people are looking into installing wood burners and multi-fuel stoves to burn solid fuels instead of relying on their boilers to generate heat around the home. Research has shown that a wood-burning stove can cost less than mains gas per kWh, saving household bills as you heat your home.
Choose the Best Wood and Smokeless Fuel
Traditional coal and unseasoned wood forms result in less efficient and shorter fires. Older types of house coal are being phased out across the UK because they can damage the environment and won't burn as well as newer, smokeless coal. Unseasoned wood contains far too much moisture to be deemed safe to burn; you would either need to be seasoned for a long time or buy kiln-dried logs to ensure the moisture content is below 20%.
Depending on the type of fire setting you have, some fuels are more suitable than others. For example, Stoveheat Premium is the perfect choice for a multi-fuel stove as the briquettes have been shaped and designed to work best in a closed combustion chamber.
Insulation and Warmth Retention
It's vital that whatever warmth is created in your home is to be kept inside, too. Double-glazed windows and proper wall insulations are a great way to avoid a cold home. Also, choosing carpets instead of wooden or tiled floors can retain heat.
It would be a waste of kiln-dried firewood to light fires more regularly but not close doors to retain the heat where you usually reside. If the warmth creeps underneath your doors, consider buying a draft excluder to maintain the heat, meaning you’ll need to top up on fuel less.
Buy in Bulk
To save the most on fuel purchases, bulk buying your wood or smokeless coal supply saves you money per unit. Not only will you save significantly on your solid fuel, but you will also be spared the inconvenience of repeat orders.
As long as you have suitable storage space for your kiln-dried wood and coal, you can take advantage of larger bundles to make significant financial savings, assuming you were going to light fires anyway consistently.
