IT is that time of year when we consider the cost of heating our homes.

Recent milder winters have made some impact on our energy bills, but for the elderly and for those with conditions for whom it is vital to keep warm, heating the home is essential over the colder months.

While the heating allowance for over-60s helps to soften the blow of increased winter bills, for some people heating their homes is still a struggle.

According to Age UK, an older person dies every seven minutes from cold weather each winter, and those living in the coldest homes are hit the most by excess winter death rates and illness.

Every winter 25,000 older people in England and Wales don’t survive the cold, amounting to 206 deaths a day, or one death every seven minutes.

Many of these deaths could be prevented and are known as “excess winter deaths.” Age UK said countries which experience much colder temperatures, such as Finland, Germany and France, have significantly lower winter death rates than the UK, because the UK has the oldest houses in the EU.

Pam James, who runs Open House for Seniors sessions in Bradford and Ilkley, offers some practical ways for pensioners to keep warm and avoid hefty bills.

Layering up with clothing is one top tip, and consuming warm drinks and meals instead of snacking on sandwiches.

She says maintaining constant heat at a lower temperature may be preferable to heating just one room. “For me keeping as warm as possible is the most important use of one’s pension during the cold weather,” she says. “There are many sensible things one can do about a bill and the top one for me is to make sure the meter is read properly so people don’t get an estimated bill, that is the biggest problem with high bills being received, often people don’t check that it’s a true account and not estimated.

“Also, to put a coat or some sort of block along the bottom of the door to keep that draught out and maybe the same with window ledges within reach.”

A third of over-65s are concerned about how they will heat their homes this winter and 70 per cent have fears over the high cost of energy, according to new research from the charity which coincides with the launch of its Campaign for Warm Homes this winter.

Escalating energy bills is one of the main concerns over the winter months for around five million over-65s.

Just under one million older people live in fuel poverty and many can’t afford to heat their homes to a sufficient temperature to keep warm.

The new research suggests that 41 per cent of older people believe the Government should do more to ensure UK homes are made more energy efficient, and 36 per cent feel energy companies should do so.

There is also the additional cost to the NHS associated with additional winter deaths and illness. Age UK has calculated the cost to the NHS in England is around £1.36 billion per year.

Colin Gornall, chief executive of Age UK, Bradford, says: “Bradford is one of the top areas of fuel poverty in the country but it isn’t just about throwing money at bills.”

Colin says rather than turning the thermostat up, they are focusing on making sure homes aren’t ‘bleeding heat’ through insulation schemes which are already up and running in the city.

Along with Bradford Council, they are currently working on 150 insulations across the city targeted not just at the elderly but those identified who would benefit from the scheme.

“I think it is the same story year in, year out.

“We have been lucky over the past two years the winters have been relatively mild, but it is a sad reflection that we constantly have these facts that highlight the problems within the older community, and we need to be doing something about it once and for all to try and identify people who are at risk and help them.”

A Government spokesman says: “Around 12.5m older people are due to receive £2.15bn in help from Winter Fuel Payments this year, part of our very clear commitment to keep British pensioners warm this winter.

“What’s more a total of £700 million has been put out to vulnerable people in Cold Weather Payments since 2010 in 28 million separate payments and this year the Warm Home Discount is providing £310m of extra help to those at risk of fuel poverty.

“But we know the way to help people, permanently, is to make their homes warmer and cheaper to heat.

“We are improving the UK’s housing to help more than 1.3m homes, on top of an investment of over half a billion pounds in energy efficiency.”