If you are a student who is staying at your University accommodation during the winter break, please take some time to read our practical advice about getting prepared and ensuring you have what you need, as well as keeping household costs down, and staying safe…
Get your food supplies ordered in advance!
Don’t wait under the last minute to order your festive foods and treats, as many stores will be fully booked for home deliveries during the run up to Christmas. If you aren’t ordering your food, try and shop around for the best deals in different stores, and don’t dismiss shopping in places like Aldi – they have some great student-friendly prices and lots of festive treats to choose from!
Thinking about food, how about some festive Christmas dinner recipes:
Keeping your accommodation homely and warm over the winter...
Some student accommodations may have an ‘all inclusive’ rent agreement with their landlord, meaning you might not have to think about heating bills as much as those who pay electricity and gas bills separately to rent. However, even if your bills are included in your rent agreement, often there is a ‘cap’ on these, and if you go over this cap you will likely have to cover the costs. If you are unsure on whether or not you have a cap on your bills, check your student accommodation contract or get in touch with your estate agent or if you are renting privately, your landlord.
1. Only heat rooms that are occupied.
Make sure you are switching off the radiators in any empty bedrooms, or areas that are only used for short periods of time, like hallways. This will help lower the heating bills and ensure you are using energy efficiently.
2. Only put the heating on when you actually need it!
According to the Energy Saving Trust, the idea that leaving your heating on low all day is cheaper is a myth. In fact, it’s better to only pop the heating on when you need it!
3. Use your radiators efficiently.
You might think that hanging your wet clothes on radiators will save running the tumble dryer, but if your radiators are drying your laundry, they’re not heating your home. Ensuring that furniture and clothes and other obstructions have been moved will allow heat to circulate more freely around your room.
Top tip: place a sheet of foil between your radiator and your wall will reflect heat back into the room instead of it going out through the walls and being lost altogether. You can use tinfoil with a bit of cardboard or buy specialist radiator foil, either way, foiling up your rads is going to save energy and money!
4. Check for draughts!
Before you whack up the heating, make sure you check your home for draughts. Many people are ‘blown away’ by the number of draughts that can be found in the average home, but there are lots of ways that you can defeat these energy inefficient annoyances. For example, a good old fashioned draught excluder, or keyhole disco, or a letter box cover could help you save energy on heat and make the world of difference in keeping your home warm.
You can also use draught excluders by the doors of unused rooms to keep the heat where you need it. Don’t forget to pop them in front of your external doors, too!
5. Unplug high-energy appliances!
Some appliances, like chargers, laptops and kettles drain energy if left switched on – even when you’re not using them. So, when you’re done with these, make sure you flick the switch off.
6. Open your curtains during the day and close them each night.
Did you know that up to 20% of heat in homes is lost through windows? This is why it is so important to keep your curtains closed at night to keep draughts at bay. You’ll want to keep them open in the daytime though – sunlight can help warm the rooms in student houses, especially if you have south-facing windows which let in more light, and therefore heat.
Keep your house well ventilated to avoid mould issues.
Keeping your house ventilated will keep mould at bay. However, in the winter, the last thing you want to do is open a window. Thankfully, there are ways around it. If there are vents in your student house, keep them clear of furniture and belongings. Plus, if your student housing has an extractor fan, make sure you switch it on regularly!
And finally, wrap up warm...
This is an obvious one, of course, but sometimes it is easy to forget you have the heating on full as you walk about in just a shirt, forgetting you are racking up the energy bill! Make sure you are wrapped up with an extra layer of clothing, a blanket, or taking a hot water bottle to bed with you before you decide you need to turn up the thermostat.
It may be worth investing in a decent hoodie for the winter break, or perhaps adding an oversized blanket hoodie or a new hot water bottle to your Christmas wish list!
If you want to find out more about how you can keep your student accommodation cosy in winter, have a read of these handy guides from the Energy Saving Trust and Money Saving Expert.