Rented homes waste heat in ways tenants can fix

If you rent, you have probably looked at a draughty window or an ageing boiler and thought: that is the landlord's problem. Fair enough — you cannot replace the heating system or re-insulate the loft. But a surprising share of the energy waste in a rented home comes from small, removable things that sit entirely within your control.

The trick is to pick measures that are cheap, reversible, and clearly allowed under your tenancy agreement. Have a quick read of that agreement before you start. Most permit reasonable, non-permanent changes. Anything you fit should come away cleanly when you leave, so keep the original parts in a drawer and put them back on moving day.

Plug the draughts before you touch the thermostat

Draughts are the cheapest win in any home. Cold air creeping under doors and around window frames makes a room feel far cooler than it actually is, so you nudge the thermostat up — and pay for it all winter.

• Doors: a fabric draught excluder along the bottom of a door costs a few pounds and takes seconds to fit. Letterbox brush covers and keyhole covers are just as simple.
• Windows: self-adhesive foam or brush strips on the frame cut leaks and rattles, and peel off before you move out. Secondary glazing film, shrunk tight with a hairdryer, is surprisingly effective on single-glazed flats.
• Chimneys: an unused chimney can pull warm air out of a room all evening. A chimney balloon or draught excluder stops it. Never block a vent that supplies air to a gas appliance.
• Gaps under skirting and floorboards: a rolled-up fabric snake along the base of a wall does the job with no tools at all.

Radiator reflector panels, slipped behind radiators against an external wall, push heat back into the room rather than into the brickwork. They cost very little and lift off in seconds.

Lighting and appliances: slow savings that add up

Lighting is the easiest swap in a rented property. Replace old halogen bulbs with LEDs — they use roughly a tenth of the energy and last years. Keep the old bulbs in a box so you can refit them when you leave, and note that you can take your LEDs with you.

Then look at the habits around your appliances:

• Switch off at the wall. Televisions, games consoles, and chargers all sip power on standby. A smart plug or a switched extension makes it effortless.
• Laundry: wash at 30°C, wait for a full load, and dry on an airer or outside rather than in a tumble dryer. If you must use a dryer, spin the load first.
• Kitchen: boil only the water you need, use a lid on pans, and use the microwave for small portions. Defrosting food in the fridge overnight cuts cooking time.
• Fridge and freezer: keep them away from the oven and out of direct sun, and don't overfill the freezer — air needs to circulate.

Smarter heating habits that don't cost comfort

You do not need to shiver to save money. A comfortable, healthy indoor temperature sits around 18–21°C, with bedrooms a little cooler at night. What matters is how you get there.

• Heat rooms, not the street. If a room is too hot, turn the radiator down; don't open a window with the heating running.
• Use the thermostatic radiator valves. Turn off radiators in rooms you rarely use and keep doors closed, so warmth stays where you need it.
• Don't block radiators. Sofas, drying clothes, and long curtains all soak up heat that should be warming the room. Drying laundry on radiators also adds moisture, which encourages damp.
• Work with the sun. Open curtains during daylight for free warmth, then close them at dusk to trap it in.
• Warm yourself first. A jumper, thick socks, and a hot water bottle are cheaper than a degree on the thermostat — and often just as effective.

Shorter showers save both water and the energy used to heat it. A shower timer or a cheap flow-restricting shower head can cut hot water use noticeably, and both unscrew in seconds if you take them with you.

Know what your landlord must do

Some jobs are genuinely not yours. Landlords in England and Wales must not let a property with an Energy Performance Certificate below band E, and they are responsible for keeping the heating system and boiler in safe working order. Ask for a copy of the EPC — it tells you what is already installed and what could be improved.

If you spot a problem — a boiler that keeps losing pressure, radiators that never heat up, recurring damp — report it in writing rather than working around it. A well-worded email that explains the issue and its likely cost is far more persuasive than a passing mention. Some improvements, such as loft or cavity wall insulation, may be partly funded through government energy efficiency schemes, which is worth mentioning politely.

A simple routine to run through the seasons

• Each morning: open curtains and blinds to let the daylight in.
• Each evening: close curtains, shut doors to unused rooms, and lower the thermostat before bed.
• Each month: check your draught excluders are still in place and that nothing has been piled against a radiator.
• Each autumn: ask your landlord to service the boiler, and bleed any radiators that are cold at the top if you are confident doing so — otherwise ask.

None of this needs a drill, a deposit, or a difficult conversation. Start with the draughts, switch the bulbs, adjust your habits, and you will feel the difference in both comfort and your bills.