Martin Lewis explains how to use your curtains to keep heat in your home this winter

Detailed summary

At this time of year, any tips on keeping warm without breaking the bank are very welcome. And when it comes to saving money, there's no one better than Martin Lews

With temperatures dropping across the UK, most people will have bitten the bullet and put the heating on at home. While this is usually the simplest way to keep your home warm, with energy prices at record levels, coupled with the ever-increasing costs of other essentials such as food and fuel, it's understandable that many may feel reluctant to do so.

As a result, any tips on keeping warm without breaking the bank are very welcome. And when it comes to saving money, there's no one better than Martin Lewis. The self-styled Money Saving Expert is well-known around the country for his wealth of helpful tips on cutting your bills and other ways to keep more of your hard-earned cash.

In a recent episode of his ITV programme, he explained a simple mistake some people are making which could be forcing their heating to work harder to keep their homes warm, costing them more as a result. It's a simple error, and many people will have done it without thinking.

Many homes have radiators by windows, meaning long curtains can droop down in front of the heater. But Martin warned this could actually be keeping your home from warming up effectively.

"One really important thing - your curtains should be behind the radiator, not in front of the radiator," he said. "Or then the radiator is just heating the back of the curtains."

Martin also explained the best time to open curtains, and the best time to keep them closed in cold weather to keep your home warm, and keep heating bills down. He explained that, when the sun is out, radiating energy shines through the windows and into the home, heating it up.

"So you want the curtains open," he said. "As soon as it gets dark, you're shutting them, because you want to trap that heat energy inside your house. That's what tactical curtains means."

One of the experts on Martin's show, energy sustainability expert Professor Richard Fitton, explained how Venetian Blinds can be correctly positioned to keep heat in.

If they are positioned so the slats are…

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