AS HEATING bills skyrocket, we've started looking for simple, affordable and effective alternatives to protect our homes against the cold, like draught excluders.
We've picked out and tested some of the best draught excluders around to help keep the heat in and the cold out without the extra-pricey heating bills.
Drought excluders work by sealing off your front door, internal door, garage door, and windows, and if you pick up a themed one, it'll bring a little bit of joy to your home.
Whether you're looking for practical air-sealing solutions that blend seamlessly with your decor or you're after something more of a fun focal point, we've got your needs covered.
Check out our roundup of the best draught excluders below.
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Best draught excludes at a glance
- Best overall draught excluder: Fowong Heavy Duty Draft Excluder
- Best budget draught excluder: Teddy Bear Draught Excluder Charcoal
- Best for kids' rooms: Dora Designs Cocker Spaniel Draught Excluder
- Best for French doors: Evans Lichfield Opulence Draught Excluder
- Best for front doors: Scottie Dog Draught Excluder
Fowong Heavy Duty Draft Excluder
- Fowong Heavy Duty Draft Excluder £16.59,
£29.99from Amazon - buy here
Pros: Heavy-duty, soundproof
Cons: Expensive, not as cute as some
Efficiency: 10/10
Value: 9/10
Overall score: 9/10
This draught excluder is great value for money.
It's seriously heavy and not only stops cold air from blowing in, but it's soundproof and stops light and dust from getting into a room, too.
It's very weighty, filled with polyester and glass beads, and it has a hanger so you can hang it up to save space when not in use.
It's not as pretty or cute as some of the attractive designs you can buy elsewhere, but it did a great job for the price.
Material: cotton and linen fabric, dimensions: 35.9 x 23.3 x 8.9 cm
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Dora Designs Cocker Spaniel Draught Excluder
- Dora Designs Cocker Spaniel Draught Excluder £44.99 from Amazon - buy here
Pros: Heavy-duty, great talking point, fun for kids
Cons: Expensive
Efficiency: 10/10
Value: 8/10
Overall Score: 9/10
I thought £44.99 was a lot to pay for a draught excluder, but this was very heavy duty.
It's well made, looks good and did a great job of stopping the draught which usually blows in.
My kids think he is great, and he has become a real talking point amongst visitors, too.
There are other dog versions available if you prefer.
Material: Black and light grey boucle fabric dimensions: 83.01 x 16.99 x 11 cm
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Plush Bear Draught Excluder Charcoal
- Plush Bear Draught Excluder Charcoal, £6
£12from Dunelm - buy here
Pros: Super thick, brings a touch of colour to your home
Cons: May collect dirt faster than others
Efficiency: 10/10
Value: 10/10
Overall score: 10/10
A super thick and fluffy home accessory, this will stop cold chills blowing in and improve the insulation of your home.
Its faux fur cover brings a texture to your room and the charcoal colour will work with most homes.
At less than £9, this is a real bargain from Dunelm.
Material: 100% Recycled Polyester dimensions: 22cm x approx 88cm
Evans Lichfield Opulence Draught Excluder
- Evans Lichfield Opulence Draught Excluder, £14 from Dunelm - buy here
Pros: attractive and simple, snug fit, removable cover
Cons: not as effective as others,
Efficiency: 7/10
Value: 6/10
Overall score: 6/10
A lovely plush, velvety material in an attractive deep burgundy-red colour.
It looked quite lavish and a nice quality for the price tag.
This fits the door well and keeps rooms feeling snug.
In strong winds, there might still have been a bit of a breeze blowing through.
The covers are removable for washing. A great option from Dunelm.
Material: 100% Polyester dimensions: 20cmxW90cmxD8cm
Scottie Dog Draught Excluder
- Scottie Dog Draught Excluder, £15 from Brand Alley - buy here
Pros: Light, high-quality material, affordable
Cons: May get moved by accident
Efficiency: 8/10
Value: 9/10
Overall score: 8/10
This felt quite light, and I wasn't sure how effective it was going to be at keeping out those draughts.
Actually, though, I was pleasantly surprised.
It’s a quality material that stopped cold air blowing indoors and did a great job of keeping the house feeling warm. Not a bad price either.
Material: : Front: 100% cotton / Reverse: 100% polyester dimensions: H20 x W88 x D9cm
What is the best draught excluder?
When you've got small gaps in doorways and window frames, it's easy for cold air to make its way around and create pesky draughts in your home — and no amount of cranking the heating up seems to help. After all, you want to reduce - not increase - your energy bills.
Luckily, the best draught excluders are a cost-effective way of sealing off your rooms and stopping the cold air from travelling. Saving warm air inside means you'll need to use less heating and save money on energy bills.
So how does it work? Draught excluders on doors and windows help trap warm air from escaping and prevent cold air from coming in, whether it's the outside or any rooms that you don't usually heat up.
An additional benefit of using tight draught excluders is that they can keep out mice and insects. Your home will be protected from any little things that can fly inside with the blowing wind.
For front doors and garage doors, fixed draught excluders with brushes are the most durable choice, while for living spaces and bedrooms, movable door draught excluders are perfect and can look really stylish, too.
Meanwhile, for windows, self-adhesive draught excluders can be a good solution: these stick to the inside of your frame and come in a range of lengths, thicknesses and colours to suit your requirements. Some popular colour choices are black, white, brown and grey.
For internal doors, you can even have the options of velvet-felt and animal-shaped door draught excluders.
How much are draught excluders?
Draught excluders come in a variety of prices but tend to be quite affordable — especially if you shop around.
We found that fabric or patterned draught excluders often start from around a tenner and usually go up to around £30 - with exceptions for seasonal designs or one-of-a-kind handmade, unique purchases.
If you're looking for the more utilitarian kind (for example, metal, rubber or brush draught excluders for your doors and windows), then these are usually around a fiver.
Where to buy draught excluders in the UK?
Shopping around for the best deal and the product that best fits you is always a smart idea, and we always recommend you do so.
Searching for draught excluders might seem like a tedious task, but if done right, you could definitely save on your energy bills. We're always trying to help out, so we've compiled a few places that you should look at if you want to go on your own hunt.
Is there an alternative to draught excludes?
If you don't want to put something at the bottom of your door, there are a few alternatives, but they essentially function the same.
Some common options would be weather stripping, which is slightly more versatile as it can be applied around doors and windows. If you have an especially draughty home, this may be the better option so you can tackle more problem places.
Another option is door snakes, which are essentially draught excluders without adding much to your home; they're fabric-filled tubes filled with insulating material and placed at the bottom of doors and windows.
How to fit a draught excluder around a door
What items you need will depend on the type of draught excluder you use. Some common tools to fit a draught excluder are screws, screwdrivers, drills, pliers, hacksaws, pencils, and bradawl.
For example, to fit a draught excluder with a rubber strip, first, measure the door. Then cut the rubber strip and the carrier to size.
Place the draught excluder against the door so that the rubber strip blocks the draught gap. Mark the positions where to fit the screws, drill the holes and fix the draught excluder to the door with the screws.
To fit a draught excluder with a brush strip, you need to make sure the bristles firmly stroke the floor, which is the key to blocking the draughts.
Meanwhile, for fabric draught excluders, you can use adhesive strips to stick them to the doors.
Can you paint over the draught excluder to match it with your door and home?
It depends on the material. For obvious reasons, you can't paint over fabric ones. You might be able to paint rubber draught seals with pigment, but it's best to check the product carefully.
An easier way is to choose draught excluders made in a colour that matches your door and home as closely as possible. You can always DIY them if you have time and feel creative.