Home advice

You can do many simple eco-friendly things to reduce the carbon footprint of your home and cut your bills for a more energy efficient home.

Let's have a look at where you could make some quick and valuable savings:

Lighting

According to The National Energy Foundation, low-energy light bulbs use up to five times less electricity than conventional light bulbs.

It adds that an energy-saving compact fluorescent (CFL) 20 watt low-energy bulb with an 8,000 hour life will save around £35 of electricity over its lifetime compared with a standard 40 watt bulb with a tungsten filament.

• For a home with around 20 or more interior lights, that's a big saving over time that cuts your carbon emissions by consuming less energy.
• Low-energy bulbs are widely available and now look similar to standard bulbs. Most supermarkets sell them.
• A good rule of thumb is that if the light doesn't need to be on, just turn it off!

Heating

You can cut out a surprising amount of wasted energy just by using your central heating controls - such as thermostats for heating and hot water, radiator controls with thermostats included and electronic timers.

These few steps can pay financial and environmental dividends:

• Use the timer to make sure the heating is only on when you need it.
• If you're having a new boiler or hot water cylinder put in, ask the installer to talk you through the controls - and ask for a follow-up visit.
• Try turning the thermostat down by just 1 degree Celsius - you could save as much as 10% on your heating bills.
• When you replace your existing boiler, buy a more energy efficient one. Just look for the energy-saving recommended label on the product - it can only be used on the most energy efficient products and could save you a packet.

Insulation

Did you know that you could be losing as much as a third* of your heating costs through your roof if your home is poorly insulated?

If you currently have no loft insulation, installing 270mm will cost about £230 and could save you between £180 to £220 annually. It could also reduce your household CO2 footprint by 1.5 tonnes every year and what's more you can even fit it yourself*.

• Even if you already have loft insulation, adding another layer to bring it up to 270 mm can make a big difference to heat loss.
• You can save up to £160* a year with cavity wall insulation - the savings you make means it will pay for itself in under 2 years and could reduce your household CO2 footprint by 1 tonne every year.
• Installation is quick and easy - just a few hours for a typical three-bedroom house, and can be done from the outside.
• Your home needs to have hollow cavity walls - you can insulate solid walls too, but this is a bigger and more costly job to do.
• DON'T forget to lag your hot water pipes and insulate the boiler to keep heat in.
• Use sealing strips to draft-proof windows and cut heat loss by up to 20%.*
• Think about double-glazing. It will cut heat loss through your windows by up to 50%!*

* Source: The Energy Saving Trust (UK Government), 2007.

Appliances

Think about how you use your household appliances:

• DON'T leave your TV, hi-fi, DVD or computer on standby overnight. A 2006 survey by The Energy Saving Trust found the average household has up to 12 gadgets left on standby or charging at any one time, wasting more than £740m of electricity by keeping that little red light on.
• DO turn your central heating thermostat down by 1C° - The Energy Saving Trust estimates this will cut annual heating bills by 10%.
• DO wash your clothes at 30C° instead of 40C° - you'll save money on electricity and there will be no difference in wash quality.
• DO part-fill your kettle if you only need a little boiling water - it will boil faster and use less energy.
• DO regularly defrost your freezer - it will work more efficiently and use less electricity. Keeping it full (without obstructing the fan which circulates cold air) is also more energy efficient.
• DO wait until you have a full load for the dishwasher - you will use it less and cut the amount of energy you use.
• DO look for replacement products with an energy-saving recommended label as they will help save you money too.

Hey presto! You've just created a more energy efficient home!