Insulation

• Insulation and draughtproofing will help to keep the whole house warmer and will cut your fuel bills. Loft insulation should be at least 250mm thick.
• Wall insulation is also important, as approximately 33% of the heat in your home is lost through the walls. Installing cavity wall insulation, or something similar, can help drastically reduce this heat loss. This is an effective form of insulation. Make sure your hot water cylinder is well insulated. If your hot water cylinder is in the loft, make sure that the pipes are also well insulated.
• Your hot water tank should be insulated with a jacket of about 75mm thick. Jackets are cheap and available from DIY shops and should pay for themselves in fuel bill savings within a few months.

Appliances

• Wherever possible, try to buy household appliances with an Energy Saving Recommended logo . Also, look for the EU Energy Label - appliances are rated from A to G depending on their energy efficiency. Always aim for an A-rated appliance or as near as possible.
• Keeping your freezer full will make the appliance more efficient and help to save money on your energy bills. If necessary, fill with loaves of bread and fill gaps with rolled up newspapers in carrier bags.
• Switch off TVs, videos, stereos etc rather than leaving them on standby. These appliances use over 60% as much energy on standby as they would if they were switched on.
• Use energy-saving lightbulbs wherever possible; a bulb giving off 100w of light only uses 20w of electricity.

Heating

• Your room thermostat should be between 18 and 21°C. Turning your thermostat down by 1°C could cut your heating bills by up to 10%
• Central heating is more efficient than using a gas or electric radiant fire. However, older boilers tend to be inefficient. Replacing these with a newer model could save over 20% on heating bills.
• The hot water cylinder thermostat should be no higher than 60°C for bathing and washing.
• Your home could be losing 20% of your heat through single glazed, poorly fitting windows. Secondary glazing is less expensive than replacement double glazing and can save around £30 per year.