Protect your heat. Fit a pelmet 

Not just a hazy memory from the eighties - window pelmets are available in sleek, stylish finishes and will really help cut that spend down even more. 

Warm air inside your home will actively seek out any cold spots or gaps around your property, so it's best to plug them up as soon as possible. It sounds too easy, but really is worth the effort. 

Another option are draught defenders around your windows - simple and low cost. 

Plus, closing your curtains as early as possible during winter will save you money.

Thanks to 'heat exchange', when the outdoor temperature is lower than inside your heated home, the race for that heat to escape hots up. So nip it in the bud by simply closing curtains and blinds as early as possible. 

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Would a hat on your house save you money?

That question gets a firm yes. If you go from no insulation to the recommended 270mm, the savings could be over £200 a year depending on your property type. 

The attic can get really cold, and without attic floor insulation, that cold air will make its way down to your nice cosy rooms. Your heating system will then need to really work up an expensive sweat to battle against this cold air. 

Putting a big hat over your roof would be ideal. The next best option is to invest in some loft insulation to keep the cold air upstairs away from the rest of the house. 

Is your sofa blocking your savings?

Heating a room instead of your furniture might not sound like much of a fix. But heat can easily get trapped behind furniture, which means it can't circulate around the room and heat it properly. That means you're left feeling cold - or asking yourself why on earth the heating isn't working. 

If that's happening in your home, try moving furniture a few metres away from your radiators to see if that helps heat your room better. 

If possible, keep your rads completely unblocked by furniture or curtains so they can radiate heat in and around your rooms more easily. 

An early curtain drop that works 

Windows can get really cold, and when warm air makes contact with these cold windows, heat makes a quick escape. Then you'll feel a draught of cold air in your room instead. Some say this can make as much difference as having double glazing, and costs you nothing. 

Close curtains and blinds as early as possible to keep your rooms warmer and your heating bills lower. 

When it's colder outside than in, the warm air in your room will constantly transfer its heat to the colder air outside through the windows, walls, and any small gaps. Daily temperatures start to drop in the late afternoon, so closing the curtains or blinds as early as possible will help keep your bills down. 

Might this sausage save you from spending?  

We all need a superhero - perhaps more than one. Gaps underneath doors are your sworn enemy when it comes to wasting heat as they help make your heating bill higher than it needs to be. 

Why not invest in a stylish draught excluder who, during winter, will act as your door security against unwanted guests while you've got the heating on. 

The heat inside your room will find any excuse to join the outside world, and a draughty gap beneath a door is a perfect escape hatch. Simply block its path - your bank balance will thank you. 

Draught-proofing strips and excluders around your windows and doors could save you around £85 a year.