Page last updated on 16th March 2026

Teenager sitting on floor with feet on the radiator

Draught proofing your home

Have you ever noticed a slight chill in your home, no matter how much you turn the heating up? Then you may be dealing with a draught. Draughts can often be found in areas of the house with gaps and cracks leading to the outside, such as around windows, front doors, or fireplaces.

Even small draughts can make any room around the house feel a lot colder. Draught proofing your home can make an instant difference, keeping your rooms warmer for longer. It’ll also mean that you’ll use less energy heating it up.

In this guide, we’ll share draught tips on everything from draught proofing your front door to fitting a fireplace draught excluder.

With a smart meter you can see what you’re spending in pounds and pence in near real-time, so you can instantly see the financial benefits of trying our energy saving tips.

Tips for draught proofing your home

If you’re looking to save energy in the home, draught proofing is a simple yet effective way to save. We’ve compiled some draught tips that can help keep you warm and your pockets a little fuller:

Draught proofing doors

To retain heat, consider draught proofing doors around the house, particularly the front door. You can insulate the sides of your doors with simple strip insulation and draught sealers, widely available at DIY shops. Energy Saving Trust have some great advice on how to fit insulation strips.

To block out any breezes coming under external doors, you can make your own draught excluder, DIY-style. We teamed up with blogger Redtedart to show you exactly how to make your own draught excluder, so be sure to check out their page.

Keep all internal doors closed to retain the heat within individual rooms, and place draught excluders at the bottom of these doors too.

Keyholes should be covered, especially older, wider keyholes. You can buy purpose-made covers cheaply and a piece of masking or duct tape is a great temporary measure.

Looking to make your own letterbox draught excluder? Measure up the size of the box and insert a brush or flap to keep cold air out and heat in.
Draught-proof windows

Thick or thermal lined curtains will help to keep draughts at bay, particularly if you only have single glazing. But open curtains during the day to let in sunshine and warmth.

Just as with doors, you can buy self-adhesive foam strips to fill the gaps between the window and the frame that are easy to attach.

Just check you get the right size; too wide and they'll hamper you shutting the window, too narrow and they won't have any effect.

If you’re thinking of replacing your windows entirely, you’ll want to make sure they are as energy efficient as possible.
Floorboards and fireplaces

Draughts can whistle in through gaps in floors and skirting boards. Unused chimneys can be a source of unnecessary draughts, and you can also lose an extraordinary amount of heat through open fireplaces. For any that are not in use, consider installing a fireplace draught excluder, such as chimney balloons or woollen chimney insulations, which you can install yourself.
Avoid blocking intentional airflow

Air still needs to flow in and out of your house, so it stays fresh, dry and healthy. When draught proofing your home, make sure you don't block or seal intentional ventilation.

This could be extractor fans, airbricks, wall vents or trickle vents in modern windows.

A smart meter sits on top of a wooden coffee table, next to a leather sofa.

Small changes add up

All these small changes could add up to big savings on your energy bills, savings you can keep track of with a smart meter. Smart meters show you how much energy you’re using in near real-time, so the more small changes you make the more you’ll notice the difference in your energy use.

Join the millions of Brits already helping to create a smarter future. Simply type your supplier into the box below and we'll connect you.

Heating the home and saving energy: help and advice

If you are worried about the rising cost of energy and being able to pay your energy bills, we have information on the support and help which may be available.

You can also find out more about the support available from the government including energy saving tips on the GOV.UK website.

More energy saving tips here

How much could I pay to run household appliances?

The appliance energy calculator below will show how the price cap change could affect the cost of using everyday household appliances. Simply update the drop-down buttons with your estimated usage to see the costs.

The energy calculator below will show how the price cap change could affect the cost of using everyday household appliances. Simply update the drop-down buttons with your estimated usage to see the costs.

The calculator below will show a cost estimate for the current price cap (January-March 2026), and compare that to the previous price cap (October-December 2025), and the price cap before that (July-September 2025). So, you can see how your energy bills might have changed over time.

Please note: The electricity used by domestic appliances can vary depending on make and model, so we’ve used average power ratings. We have also used the price cap figures for a standard variable rate, so this calculator doesn't take into consideration any fixed tariffs or additional costs.

This calculator was last updated on 01/01/2026.