Shorter days, colder weather & less leaves on the trees can only mean one thing…the onset of winter. Some of us love the changing of the seasons and the move away from hot, dry or humid days. However, for most of us there is one inevitable result of winter which none of us look forward to – the increase in our heating bills.

Regardless of who you’re getting your heat from, it seems like every year you’re paying more. The annoying thing about heating your home is that it is unavoidable. You need to stay warm and there are only so many layers of wool you can put on before movement is restricted.

There are ways to decrease these costs, most of which are a lot simpler and cost a lot less than you would have thought. We have tried to outline below 7 simple tips to reducing your home energy consumption. Prepare to smile when you open your next energy bill.

It’s thought that up to 25% of your home’s heat is lost through the attic a pretty big number when you compare that percentage to your annual energy bill. The good news is that in most homes you can insulate the loft yourself. There are two techniques depending on whether you use the space or not, but either way both should be DIYable and at least not break the bank.

If you go by the U.S. department of energy statistics, drafts in your home can account for anywhere from 5 – 30% of your energy use. That’s the bad news, the good news is that there are multiple ways of combating drafts. The easiest is to make a draft snake or buy one from any of the hundreds of stores selling interesting variations.

As my economics teacher used to say “heat bodies, not spaces”, a statement which I think we could all benefit from adhering to once in a while. It of course does have its limits, but putting on a cardigan instead of turning the thermostat one degree will make a big impact on your bill at the end of the month.

No really, it will make a difference. Some of the newer home ceiling fans allow you to reverse the direction of the blades to a clockwise rotation. By setting the rotation to clockwise the hot air trapped by the ceiling is re-circulated around the room, thus reducing the amount of heating required.

Not perhaps the easiest of upgrades but one which will definitely reduce your heating costs. By switching to composite doors and windows with as low a U-value (measurement used to rate the amount of heat lost through an area) as possible you are set to save around 25% on your heating costs. A saving which will pretty quickly offset the cost of the doors and windows.

Replacing your furnace filters can dramatically reduce the amount of energy your home uses. Clogged or old filter simply reduce the efficiency of your heating system costing you more for the same amount of heat. Set a recurring reminder on your phone or place a mark on your calendar every month. If you always forget; consider switching to electrostatic or HEPA filters. They cost more but are super efficient and aren’t reliant on your memory.

It is thought that for every degree you increase the thermostat over the winter, you add another 1-3% to your heating bills. Subsequently be prudent with your use of the thermostat and don’t let other people play around with the settings. Similarly when you leave the house turn the heating down, there is no point heating a space with nobody in it. If you know what temperatures you like programme them in, if you don’t have a programmable or “smart” thermostat look into installing one.

These 7 tips to reducing your energy consumption over winter were brought to you by Yale composite doors UK. Yale front doors meet the strict new door U value standards, with every door scoring between 1.0 and 1.8 W/(m2.K).