BARGAIN hunters have saluted a savvy mum’s hack which saves £100 a year on energy bills using an everyday kitchen item.
Claire Douglas, 40, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, came up with a simple way of maximising heat in her house to help cut costs throughout the colder months.
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Claire made a DIY homemade radiator reflector to help her through winter as temperatures plunged, sharing the tip with her 28,000 followers on Instagram.
The home interiors buff created the reflector by sticking the tin foil onto a strip of self-adhesive vinyl before using it to line the area behind radiators.
This helps maximise the heat being blasted in the room, and reduce heat loss, says the mum.
Claire starts by measuring the dimensions of the radiator, noting where the radiator brackets are positioned as gaps will need to be cut out in the foil panel to help it slide easily behind the radiator.
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Next, she marked the dimensions on a vinyl sheet, including the wall brackets, and cuts the panel to fit, before applying the foil.
Once covered, she cuts the foil along the channels for the wall brackets, and folds the foil back behind the panel – creating a smooth, flat edge.
Finally, she positions the reflective panel behind the radiator to ensure it doesn’t crease or wrinkle, lines up the channels cut out for the wall brackets, and slots it into place.
Claire said: “I was so impressed with the effectiveness of this hack.
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“I noticed the biggest improvement in our bedroom, which was very cold prior to installing the foil.
“I was especially happy as the hack didn’t cost anything because we had the foil and roll of DC Fix already.”
Claire decided to try it out after finding her bedroom chilly through the winter months.
She added: “I looked into how I could make them warmer without cranking the heating up a notch because, let’s face it, energy prices are already ridiculous as they are.
“I know you can buy specialist radiator foil panels, but they aren’t cheap, and regular readers will know that I much prefer employing creative and money-saving techniques wherever possible.
“Placing foil behind radiators can reduce heat loss, making the radiator more effective and saving you money.
“After researching on the internet and applying the findings to our particular house and energy bills, I calculated that this hack saves 2-5 per cent on annual bills – which for us would represent a £50-125 per year saving.”
However, Claire warns that the final result doesn’t necessarily lead to a chic look in the home – saying “it’s not pretty, but it works”.
Viewers were quick to comment on the method with many praising Claire for sharing the hack.
One said that the mum’s handy advice was “so clever”.
While another said: “What a great tip.”
A third wrote: “We’ve done that with some foil covered backing from Dunelm. It’s self adhesive & sticks to the wall behind the rad. So easy to fit.”
Claire also told viewers that there a number of ways to use the hack, the first of which is to simply place a piece of tin foil on its own behind the radiator.
However, this can lead to scrunching and wrinkling, and optimal results will come from shiny, uncreased foil.
Claire said: “To overcome these issues, you could wrap the foil around a piece or card, as this will help keep the foil flat and smooth, making it a better DIY radiator reflector.
“While that approach should work, I had a better idea involving some DC Fix vinyl wrap that I had in the cupboard.”
This is basically stick-backed plastic with a design of some kind on the outer side.
Claire added: “If you live in a well-insulated property with little energy loss and low household bills, this might not make much difference or be the game-changing hack for you.
“But, if, like millions of us in the UK at the moment with older homes, high energy costs, external solid walls and many an exterior wall radiator, then this nifty hack might just make your day – as it did mine.”
She also warned that the material of the walls can have an impact, with the trick working best on radiators located on solid outside walls.
Claire said: “In our house, the bedroom radiators are located on external walls that have been cold this winter and adding the foil-backed vinyl wrap made a big difference to the power of the radiators to heat the room.”
What energy bill help can I get this winter?
It comes after thousands of households are due £25 in free cash after cold weather payments were triggered in hundreds of postcodes.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) hands out the free cash to help support hard-up Brits during cold spells.
Eligible households get the cash paid directly into their bank accounts within 14 days.
The cold weather payments are made in locations where residents experience continuous below-zero weather.
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Households can get £25 during each seven-day period of low temperatures from November until March 31.
Plus, millions are due up to £600 in winter fuel payments.
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