Martin Lewis reveals five tips for keeping warm WITHOUT putting the heating on this winter – and one to help when you do
As winter continues to drag on and people in the UK feel the chill, Martin Lewis has shared some of his tips to keep warm without breaking the bank.
The Money Saving Expert is on a crusade to help people struggling with soaring heating and energy bills amid the cost-of-living crisis that has gripped Britain.
On his ITV programme, The Martin Lewis Money Show, the financial guru revealed a number of useful tricks to keep the temperature up that some viewers may not have thought of.
Do you have any special tricks to keep warm without putting the heating on in the winter? Email matthew.lodge@mailonline.co.uk
Energy prices have more than doubled since 2021, and although the Government has introduced a scheme to limit the impact on households, many are trying to find ways to cut their bills
Lewis said while layering your clothes effectively can help, there are other ways to keep warm when you have the central heating turned off.
On the programme, the 50-year-old said his team had done research in how to keep warm and how to save people money during the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.
‘It was really depressing, the fact that we needed to do it because of the way energy prices were going and the way some people wouldn’t be able to turn their central heating on,’ Lewis said.
‘As it turned out the research that we did has been really useful, not just for people who are in desperate states… but for many who just want to reduce their central heating.’
Energy costs have soared, with Ofgem’s price cap rising again to such an extent that an average family home would pay around £4,500 a year for gas and electricity.
The Government’s Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) means prices are capped at £2,500 based on typical use for an average household, but this will rise to £3,000 in April.
While energy prices are expected to finally drop in the summer, that will come as little comfort to those struggling to pay bills at the moment, with many desperately trying to cut back on their electricity, gas and water use.
Lewis has urged people to try the ‘one degree challenge’, where people turn their thermostat down by 1C in a bid to save electricity.
He said doing this could save people 10 per cent on their heating bill, with the World Health Organisation (WHO) saying healthy adults should be OK with their thermostat at 18C.
He added that there were other tricks to save money, such as fitting free water-saving shower heads, making sure the temperature of your fridge and freezer are not too low and turning the temperature on your boiler down to 60C if is higher than this, with the latter of these potentially saving £100 a year from your heating bill.
These are some of Martin Lewis’s tips to keep you warm without putting the heating on:
Clothes heated by electricity
While many already know about electric blankets, there are a host of other electrical items that can help people stay warm at home.
These clothes are cheap and cost-effective, with some using as little as 1p of electricity per hour, the Independent reports.
A pair of heated gloves, which can be charged by USB, cost around £5 and used effectively with other clothes such as heated insoles and handwarmers can keep the temperature up while the central heating is off.
While electric gilets are expensive to buy at around £50, they can also be useful at keeping your whole body warm and can be run for as little as 1p an hour.
An electric gilet could help keep your body warm for as little as 1p an hour in the winter
Wheat bags or hot water bottles
Alternatively wheat bags or hot water bottles can provide a temperature boost for people feeling the cold.
Putting a wheat bag in microwave on high heat for just three minutes can keep someone warm for up to an hour in the right circumstances, with the bag itself costing as little as £4 and the electricity to heat it costing 1p an hour.
Hot water bottles cost around £5 but are extremely useful at releasing heat for long periods, sometimes lasting for up to five hours or six if used in bed. While heating water in the kettle uses a lot of electricity, this could work out at a relatively cheap 7p an hour.
A hot water bottle can stay warm for up to five hours and maybe even longer if used in bed after being filled
Sit in a sleeping bag
It may seem odd to sit in one while in your own home, but the properties that make a good sleeping bag make it extremely useful at keeping you warm.
Designed for use in the great outdoors, where it is regularly colder than in your home, the bag provides an extra layer around your entire body and helps keep the heat in.
Lewis told viewers that his special hack is to sit in the sleeping bag and put a hot water bottle inside as well, with the bag trapping the heat and making it stay warm for longer.
Use ‘tactical curtains’
This tip won’t just keep you warmer, but should also save you money if you do it rigorously.
Studies have shown that in some homes simply closing the curtains or blinds when the sun goes down can reduce heat loss by up to 17 per cent.
Meanwhile, opening them during the day and getting as much sunlight as possible into the house can improve the temperature, as well as help your mental health.
Lewis said: ‘When the sun is shining it’s letting light and heat into the house, so you want the curtains open. When it gets dark it’s not, you want to keep the heat in so close the curtains.’
Cling film on the windows
Annoying draughts from the windows in your house can really drive the temperature down, with Government data showing almost 25 per cent of all heat loss is due to draughts.
Double glazing and making sure the windows and doors are completely shut can go a long way to fixing this.
For older homes where double glazing might be an issue, or where the seals around the windows have gone, one cheap alternative is to put insulating film over the windows.
While it might not look the best, it costs around £5 and can keep those draughts at bay, with cling film being a cheaper alternative if you can’t find the proper insulating film.
Tin foil behind the radiator
This tip does require you to turn the heating on, but it’s a way to make the most of it when you do.
Putting reflective panels behind radiators is a way of directing heat from the back of the unit and away from the walls into the centre of the room.
These can cost around £15 for a five metre sheet which can be used on multiple radiators depending on how big they are in your house.
One cheaper alternative to this is to use tin foil in place of the more expensive aluminium material, and although it won’t do the job quite as well, it will still work.