Jasmine Birtles
Your money-making expert. Financial journalist, TV and radio personality.
Get Cosy Without Putting the Heating on This Autumn
Moneymagpie Team
1st Sep 2025
Energy costs are set to rise again this autumn, so if you’re struggling to adapt from our summer heatwaves to chillier autumnal weather, we’ve come up with ways to avoid putting the heating on. You can save a lot of cash with a few savvy moves, as well as be more environmentally friendly!
- Layer Up
- Blankets Are Best
- Insulate Your Windows
- Enjoy Hot Drinks
- Use a Heated Airer
- Grab a Hot Water Bottle
- Use a Panel Heater
- And If You Do Put The Heating On…
Layer Up
Look, we know it’s obvious, but adding an extra jumper, a vest under your clothes, or even a second pair of socks can make all the difference to your personal warmth. This is a particularly good first step if you share your home or office with other people, as everyone has their own comfort level when it comes to temperature. Avoid arguments over the thermostat by popping on an extra layer – and then when the weather really dips cold you have a stronger argument that it’s their turn to compromise and put the heat on!
Blankets are Best
Just as with layers, a good throw or blanket can make all the difference to staying warm. This is especially true if you’re sat at your desk all day – although a stylish throw like The Wool Room’s horse blanket will probably look better than your old fleecy throw if you’re trying to keep warm at work!
Keep your evenings snuggly too with something like the sherpa-lined Night Lark Coverless Duvets, which feel light as a cloud but are incredibly warm. They’re perfect for snuggling up on the sofa, or to add as an extra quilt to your bedding on very cold nights.
Insulate Your Windows
One of the biggest places homes lose heat is through the window. Drafts, single glazing, and simply the less insulating properties of glass versus brick make windows the coolest place in the room.
Chloe Dacosta, Design Manager at Blinds 2go said: “Thermal blinds work by creating a more effective barrier between the room and the glass of your windows, helping to keep the room temperature stable. Our Thermal Pleated Blinds trap air in their fabric pockets, whilst Thermal Roller Blinds and Thermal Vertical Blinds reflect sunlight back at the window to keep your space cooler in summer and warmer in winter.”
“These blinds are great investments at any point in the year because they both help to keep the heat in during the winter, and out during the summer. Plus, if you’re wanting to help keep the energy bills low, then thermal blinds are a great cost-effective way to help regulate your room temperature.
“Certain styles will work more effectively than others. For example, Double Pleated Blinds feature two layers of honeycomb pockets, trapping more air at your window.
“Something to consider too is how teaming Thermal blinds with thermal lined curtains will give your home even more warmth. This is perhaps a better option for older windows and draftier rooms. This way, you’re catching heat at the window directly, and twice over with another layer of thick fabric through the curtains. Not only is this practical but it gives a lovely complete look.
We particularly like the MaxShade Blackout Thermal Blinds from £27.25, which provide loads of thermal insulation in a smart style as well as blocking sunlight for a proper night’s sleep. If you prefer curtains, the V&A Strawberry Thief Harissa Red Curtains are wonderfully stylish and warm (from £26.35).
Enjoy Hot Drinks
Sometimes, all you need to warm up is a tasty hot drink. Coffee lovers will benefit from the huge range of flavours you can now get for home machines, like the Tassimo My Way Bundle which includes the compact coffee machine and 48 cups of coffee (in five different flavours from Costa, Kenco, and L’Or) for just £79.99. We recently tried the Cinnamon Roll Latte pods and can confirm they are a true winter warmer! If you’re more of a ground coffee person, try the Aeropress Original, which makes a filtered brew in under two minutes from start to finish, and is super easy to clean AND is portable to take with you to the office or even camping.
Use a Heated Airer
A heated airer is a worthwhile investment especially if you live in a small home without somewhere to put your laundry or a tumble dryer. (Side note: tumble dryers are really expensive to run, too!). Not only will it dry your clothes much faster, it can help to take the chill off the room. Choose a sturdy one that folds away, like this Black and Decker heated airer from Robert Dyas, which has a big drying space but folds flat to easily store in a cupboard or behind a door. The cover helps to dry clothes faster, while the wheels make it easy to move around.
A dehumidifier should be on your list, too. They are handy multi-season gadgets. The Meaco Low Energy Dehumidifier and Air Purifier is an ideal example, helping to reduce allergens in the air which is perfect for hayfever sufferers in summer, while also reducing moisture from the room’s atmosphere. In warm months, that can make a room feel much cooler in our muggy summers, while in winter, it helps dry clothes faster and also helps prevent damp. Plus, they’re really cheap to run at around 4p per hour – much cheaper than running the central heating to dry your laundry!
Grab a Hot Water Bottle
Call us old-fashioned, but a hot water bottle adds hours of toasty heat to your day with just the cost of boiling the kettle. You can even save the water: either reboil to add to your hot water bottle again, or use it to water your plants when you’re done. (Do not drink water from a hot water bottle). You can pick up a hot water bottle with a cover from about £5 for a small one in pharmacies and homeware shops. However, if you want to have a hands-free water bottle experience, try the Wuka Wearable Hot Water Bottle, which attaches around your waist so you can go about your day with portable warmth.
They also do Wuka Heat Patches, ideal if you don’t want the bulk of a hot water bottle while you’re out on a long walk or at work. Designed to help period pain, they’re actually ideal for anyone who needs some extra warmth when they’re on the go.
Use a Panel Heater
Portable heaters can make all the difference in that weird in-between weather as the seasons change. You can take the chill off a single room rather than running the full central heating system, saving huge chunks of cash over time. However, most heaters aren’t that pretty to look at, and if you have a room that’s always cold, a more permanent solution might be in order. The decorative panel heaters by Warm4Less are genius: they look like a piece of artwork, so you can keep them on the wall all year around! And when it’s time to take the chill from the air, it’s easy to switch on and heat a room in minutes. They’re energy efficient and cheap to run, and come in different sizes and loads of designs.
And If You Do Put the Heating On…
A few tips to save money if you feel it’s time to put on the full home heating system!
- Put heating on a timer to reduce the amount of time it is on (it’s so easy to forget to switch it off)
- Lower the heated temperature by a few degrees
- Use SpeedComfort radiator fans to improve the efficiency of their heat by up to 22%
- Turn off radiators in rooms you’re not using
- Take the chill off your mornings by running the heating in off-peak electricity hours such as 5-6am
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