12 Tips Of Christmas

We are officially on the countdown to Christmas. To help get into the spirit and provide you peace of mind this festive season, we are sharing our top 12 tips of Christmas, to help keep your home safe, warm, and efficient. 

Feel your radiators, you may notice they are cold at the top and warm at the bottom. 

If this is the case, you need to bleed your radiator as it is full of air, preventing hot water from reaching the full surface area of the radiator. 

Bleeding your radiator allows the heat to flow around your home efficiently, creating a warm atmosphere in your home.

When decorating your home full of festive lights, be mindful of your sockets and potential hazards which may occur. 

Overloading sockets may cause house fires, this risk is present all year round, but is unfortunately more common over the festive period. 

If you haven’t got your sockets tested in the last 5 years, now may be the time to book an electrical test to keep your sockets and family safe as you spread Christmas cheer.

Refresh NI offer electrical testing services, keeping your home safe from electrical hazards.  

Please note: Unplug extension leads and sockets when not in use to prevent the risk of fires, keep your home safe and reduce energy consumption. 

Get your boiler services with Refresh NI to ensure it is working as it should, safely and efficiently.

Also, booking a boiler service prevents the risk of a breakdown, by ensuring all parts are fully functioning. 

Don’t lose your festive cheer, keep your home safe this Christmas with Refresh NI and book a boiler service for £45.

Maximize the heat you recieve off your radiators, to keep your home warm, cozy, and comfortable.

Let the heat flow in your home – Do not block your radiators with furniture and curtains, as they prevent heat from rising and heating up your room.

Moreover, you can place radiator reflectors on radiators on external walls to reflect heat into the room and reduce heat transfer through external walls.

As a short-term, low-cost fix – Simply place silver foil behind your radiator. 

As you know, insulation keeps heat where it should be, inside your home.

We offer loft and cavity wall  insulation, preventing heat from rising and exiting your home.

Energy Saving Trust recommends that with 27cm of insulation you could save: 

• £590 per year in a Detached House once the insulation is installed. 
• £355 per year in a Semi-Detached House once the insulation is installed.
• £330 per year in a Mid-Terrace House once the insulation is installed. 

Moreover, you can insulate pipes in colder areas of your home to prevent them from bursting.

Insulate to protect your home from Winter chills with Refresh NI.

It is important all year round we test our alarms to keep our homes safe – Preventing fires and carbon monoxide poisoning. 

However, during Winter, Carbon Monoxide leaks are more common as we use our cookers, boilers, and fires more often, as our homes are not as well-ventilated.

Keep your home safe, and prevent house fires & carbon monoxide poisoning this Christmas by simply checking your alarms.

Switch to LED lighting to save money and energy this festive period.

As the evenings get longer and darker, we are lighting up our homes for longer periods of time, so it is important to use LED efficient bulbs to save energy and money.

Did you know LED bulbs use 90% less energy than equivalent incandescent/halogen bulbs and last 20 times longer! 

Switch to LED bulbs this festive season, and enjoy your Christmas dinner in a room lit up with LED fixtures beside your Christmas tree decorated with LED lights.

As evenings get colder, don’t let the heat escape your home. Keep your home warm and comfortable by checking windows and doors for holes and gaps.

Did you know 40% of home heat escapes through windows? 

Prevent heat from escaping by insulating holes and gaps, with thick and heavy dressings to restrict cold airflow. Moreover, double up efforts with blinds and curtains. 

Take control of your home heating system once you install heating controls.

You can easily control when and for long you want your heating to come on, choose certain temperatures for particular rooms, and turn the heat on/off when you are not at home. 

Moreover, heating controls allow you to view energy consumption in real time, allowing you to make adjustments if required. 

Keep your home warm and comfortable this Christmas and keep the draughts out. 

Draughts can be simply blocked with excluders, a quick and simple way to tackle unwanted chills this Winter. 

Moreover, blocking draughts reduce the temptation to turn up the thermostat, saving you money and energy. 

Simply turn down the thermostat to save money and energy this Winter, as you may  be comfortable at a lower temperature than you think. 

Did you know, you could save £80 per year once you turn down the thermostat by one degree?

We hope you have learned a tip or two to keep your home safe, warm, and energy-efficient this festive season and implement these tips where you can.

Moreover, follow us on our social media channels to keep up-to-date with other news, advice, and guidance.

Check out our other energy-efficient blogs below to keep your home safe, and reduce energy consumption and bills.