Grand Designs expert Kevin McCloud knows a ting or two about putting a house together on a tight budget. And he has a few tips on how to make sure your home stays cost effective to. He’s shared some of his top tips on keeping winter bills down but, Kevin warns, you’ll need to act fast to get the best our of his money-saving advice.

Speaking ahead of the upcoming Grand Designs Live, Kevin says: ‘This is the time to act. My cost-effective tips will help make your home energy efficient and comfortable – and it’s a good idea to do them before winter takes hold.

“By making simple changes such as sealing draughts and adding insulation, your home will be ready for the colder months and beyond. You’ll be one step ahead before the winter hits.”

The first priority, he says, is to seal any little gaps around doors and window: “A draughty house is a leaky house,” Kevin advises. “Use draught excluders or off-the-shelf insulating strips to seal gaps around doors and windows. This simple project makes a big difference in terms of comfort and improved energy efficiency.”

While you’re at it, consider hanging a door curtain. If your front door has a less-than-perfect fit or the wind whistles through the letterbox, one fast and easy fix is to hang an insulated curtain to block out nasty draughts.

Choose a rail that’s easy to bull pack and forth, it’ll be annoying to wrestle with sticky plastic fittings. Hang the rail high above the door opening, but make sure the curtain is long enough to reach the floor. Even quite a thin fabric can have a remarkable effect.

Another five-minute fix is to replace any old lightbulbs you still have in the house with the modern LED equivalents. “Switching any old, filament lightbulbs with energy-saving light-emitting diodes (LEDs) is a quick win,” Kevin says. “LEDs use far less energy than incandescent bulbs so the impact on your electricity bill is immediate, and LEDs are kinder to the planet.”

A job that’s slightly less straightforward, but will have a huge impact on your heating bill, is to install a programmable thermostat. Replacing an old thermostat with a smart one gives precise control over your heating system, which can improve comfort and energy efficiency.

Kevin has shared the tips ahead of Grand Designs Live at NEC Birmingham, the UK’s premier home and design exhibition, taking place from 2-6 October.