The chill of winter is upon us, and like many others, I'm trying to keep my energy bills in check by being mindful about when to turn on the heating. Money-saving expert Martin Lewis often advocates for 'heating the human not the home' as a strategy to cut costs, suggesting alternatives such as hot water bottles and wearable hoodies to stay warm without having to heat the entire house.

With this advice in mind, I was intrigued when I discovered the Silentnight Heat Genie Self Heating Giant Blanket. While there are numerous electric blankets available that are relatively inexpensive to operate, the Heat Genie, priced at £37.99, claims to cost nothing to run as it requires 'no electric power'.

Described as 'comfortable and cosy', the blanket uses a heat-reflecting foil layer to bounce your body heat back onto you, providing an additional layer of warmth without the need for electricity. Available from Amazon,Sleepy People or Argos, I was eager to try it out and see if it could compete with its electric counterparts.

Given that it has already sold out multiple times at various retailers, my expectations were high. My first observation of the Heat Genie Blanket is its impressive size. With dimensions of 180cm x 240cm, it's large enough for multiple people or pets to cosy up under, reports the Mirror.