However, heating a home on a state pension or low income can be a challenge. We’ve pulled together a checklist of ways you can reduce the impact of draughts on your body, home and bills:

Heat your body, not your home
This principle is not a substitute for turning on your heating system but is a helpful way to take the edge off when living in cold homes. You can buy heated gilets and blankets with battery packs from most online retailers. The gilets give greater mobility than blankets so you can warm up on the go. Furthermore, you can charge up the battery packs at public libraries and other warm spaces if you need to keep your bills low.

Draughtproofing
This is one of the least expensive and most effective ways that you can make sure your home stays warm. Using off-the-shelf products like draughtproof tape, door brushes, thermal curtains, chimney balloons, and plugging up holes in your wall can all have an impact on your comfort levels and your bills.

The Energy Savings Trust has an excellent list of ways to draughtproof different problem areas.

Keeping your ventilation systems clear
While draughtproofing is important for dealing with ‘uncontrolled ventilation’, you also want to make sure that your home has ‘controlled ventilation’. This includes:

• Making sure your extractor fans in the kitchen and bathroom are free from debris and operational.
• Checking that your trickle vents (those little slots at the top of your double glazing) are open
• Opening windows (even in winter) for short periods of time such as after you wake up or if you’re drying laundry
• Making sure your ventilation bricks are clear and supporting uninhibited airflow.

If you are having works done on your house and installing insulation, make sure to ask your contractor or architect where the additional ventilation will be installed and ensure they are not accidentally blocking up existing systems. Like people, buildings need to breathe. If we add plastic-based materials such as polystyrene, moisture can get trapped indoors, leading to condensation and mould. And so, the ventilation system will need to adapt. This can be as simple as installing extractor fans or other mechanical ventilation systems.

Mechanical Ventilation and Heat Recovery (MVHR) Systems
MVHR is for those seeking the crème-de-la-crème of ventilation systems. These capture the heat in air as it ventilates a building and redirects it into the home. Thereby keeping a home breathing and at healthy moisture levels while minimizing heat loss.

They can be installed as integrated systems or as independent units.

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There are some financial supports available to help if you are struggling to keep your home at healthy temperatures:

• If you are eligible, make sure you are in receipt of Pension Credit – this is now the gateway to the Winter Fuel Payment. Please also tell your friends as it is one of the most underclaimed benefits in the UK. You can check eligibility either through a local benefits service or on the government website.
• Check your local council’s website for the Household Support Fund or ask a local branch of AGE UK or Citizen’s Advice if they know how to access it.
• You may qualify for grants to upgrade your home, such as the Energy Company Obligation or The Great British Insulation Scheme. Or you may want to find out about current financing options for home repairs and upgrades. We maintain an up-to-date listing of what grants and funding are available to Londoners here.

Flavia Bertram is Outreach and Communications Manager at Selce