Outside (EE)

It is important to try and keep your home at the right temperature for you but also to control the condensation in your home to reduce the risk of damp and mould. There are also ways that you can help keep the people in your home warm as well.

Clothing: wear additional layers, buy thermal clothing or heated vests, and use hats and gloves to help stay warm.

Footwear: make sure you are wearing socks and slippers (it is helpful if your slippers enclose your feet and if they have hard soles: this can provide extra insulation against cold floors and can also stop your socks from getting wet if there are any spills or wet floors). You might also want to put rugs on the floor, again to help keep your feet warm against tiled or concrete floors, but do make sure that these won’t pose a trip hazard.

Other items: use throws and blankets, hot water bottles, electric blankets, heat pads and footwarmers to help stay warm. Make sure hot water bottles don’t have leaks and aren’t perished, and make sure you use Electric Blankets safely.

Hot food and hot drinks: these help raise core body temperature and can help you stay warm.

Staying active: standing up and moving about your home, when and if you can, is a helpful way to stay warm.

There are a number of health risks associated with living in a cold and/or damp home. These can affect different age groups in different ways.

Children: living in a cold home can increase the risk of respiratory infections, asthma, and potentially impair lung and brain development.

Older adults: cold homes can increase the risk of heart attacks and stroke (because cold temperatures can increase blood pressure). Cold homes can reduce mobility in older adults, increase the risk of a fall, increase the risk of respiratory problems, and may mean that the immune system is less able to combat illness.

All ages: cold homes can exacerbate existing health conditions, weaken the immune system, and can impact on mental health such as worsening or causing anxiety and depression.

£ Thermal clothes, blankets and hot water bottles etc. can be obtained at relatively low cost.

Find other information on saving energy in the Top Tips section.