In the coming days, the Met Office warns of impending cold weather set to strike the country. Coming from the Arctic, this surge of cold weather may see snowfall in the north of England and the south of the country seeing lower than average temperatures.
Read on to find out more about this cold weather surge and what you can do to keep you warm through it and prevent your energy bills from rocketing due to excessive energy consumption.
Where is the Cold Weather Coming From?
The Met Office has provided information on the event saying that ‘the country is dealing with high pressure,’ therefore inviting colder-than-average weather for this time of year. There has also been a drop in rainfall following a wet beginning to the month.
The cold and dry conditions will continue through the rest of the week and by the time Sunday comes, an airflow will develop from the north raising the probability of hazardous conditions for certain parts of the country.
Will Lang, head of situational awareness at the Met Office has said that there will be a return to significant cold weather through the weekend which will adapt into the start of next week. Coastal rains will turn to snow for a lot of areas, particularly further north.
What Can You Do to Stay Warm?
There are a few big changes we can make to stay warm through ‘wintry’ events such as this one whilst also keeping our homes efficient in energy use and cutting down on energy bills. We will also discuss smaller and quicker changes you can implement to keep your home cosy.
Insulation
Bringing insulation into your home can rapidly change how the heat you generate can be kept within your home without minimal loss. Insulation can be installed in various ways:
- Loft Insulation: 25% of heat in your home can escape through an uninsulated loft. Loft rolls made from glass fibre, rock fibre or sheep wool may be used and are available in various widths. It is easy to work with meaning you could do the job yourself.
- Solid Wall Insulation: Old homes tend to have a solid wall construction that only provides a single layer between the inside and outside. This option will require the construction of new layers to your wall that will act as a casing to hold matting materials.
- External Solid Wall Insulation: Boards will be applied to the exterior solid walls, held in place by render with a reinforced mesh. This can change the appearance of a property so planning permission could be needed.
- Underfloor Insulation: The ground floor of your home could be insulated by placing insulation underneath floorboards preventing any drafts.
Insulation is available under the ECO4 scheme, backed by the government and energy companies to help the people who need Insulation the most gain access to it for their homes, lowering their energy bills and making their property more energy efficient.
Heat Pumps
Replacing a current traditional boiler such as gas with a renewable Air source heat pump can see you heat your home the same but for less. Impressively, they will continue to operate down to temperatures of –15*C so there is no need to worry about the incoming winter conditions hindering its operation.
- Air Source Heat Pumps: Drawing heat that is present in the air, air source heat pumps act in the opposite way your everyday refrigerator does. It takes the heat, refrigerates it, and rather than doing this process to cool it does it to heat the home. It uses less energy to heat your property and will save you money.
- Ground Source Heat Pumps: Working exactly as the air source heat pump does, the ground source heat pump is placed, as the name suggests, in the ground and sources its heat from such.
Available under the ECO4 Scheme and Boiler Upgrade Scheme, you may be eligible to receive help from the government who want to aid people in switching to a renewable heating source for their home.
What Small Changes Can You Make?
Understandably, the process of installing renewable energy sources and insulation can be lengthy and small changes to your home may need to be made to prevent the cold from getting in and the heat from getting out.
- Draught Proofing: Your home may be prone to unwanted draughts. Installing draught proofing in areas with windows and floorboards, buy draught excluders, and install a letterbox flap if you don’t have one already.
- Thermal Curtains: It may seem unlikely, but curtains in your home can make a difference. Thermal curtains closed at night, will prevent heat from entering through windows.
- Rugs: In areas where floorboards are exposed, it is a good idea to place a rug to prevent draughts in the floors coming through and will keep you warm too if you’re not a fan of wearing slippers!
- Seal Holes and Gaps: Any holes, cracks, and gaps present in your home’s walls may be letting in cold air. Sealing holes up with cement or an all-purpose filler can be an easy way to stop this.
Summary
The Met Office warns that a ‘wintry’ blast is incoming, and a lot of the country will be wondering what they need to do to keep their home warm whilst preventing their energy bills from being exceptionally high from the extra energy they will be using through this cold event.
Introducing greener energy methods to homes can make a big difference in the money people spend whilst keeping cosy throughout the winter. However, these processes can take a while, therefore small day-to-day changes can be made to keep our homes warm.