Energy saving tips

Tip 1. Energy-saving Lightbulbs

Here's a bright idea! Replace any remaining lightbulbs with energy-saving lightbulbs. UK households spend around £2.43 billion every year on electricity to power their lighting.

Tip 2. Switch Off Standby

Don't let your appliances cost you money: switch off appliances on stand by. Households in the UK now spend around 8% of their annual electricity bill on standby power.

Tip 3. Switching Off Lights

I don't like to see empty rooms lit up all over my surface! Only switch on your lights when needed and remember to switch them off when you have stopped using the room. A 100W light bulb left on for just 1/2 hour creates enough CO2 to fill a party balloon.

Tip 4. Central Heating

Small temperature changes mean big problems for me. Turn your heating down by 1 degree C. Reducing your heating thermostat by 1°C when you are too warm can cut up to 10% off heating bills over a year. For a gas-heated, three-bed semi-detached property, this could work out at around at a saving of around £55 a year!

Tip 5. Heating Controls

I am all about controlling temperature levels! Fit the right heating controls in your house as well as a condensing boiler and you could make a total saving of up to a quarter on your heating bills.

Tip 6. Boiling Water

You humans love your cups of tea but only boil as much water as you need. If everyone boiled only the water they needed to make a cup of tea instead of filling the kettle every time, we could save enough electricity in a year to run the UK's street lighting for nearly 7 months.

Tip 7. Wash at 30°

Washing your clothes at 30 degrees instead of higher temperatures uses around 40% less electricity (saving you around £10 a year). Modern washing powders and detergents work just as effectively at lower temperatures so unless you have been rolling around in some of my muddy surface keep this in mind.

Tip 8. Energy Saving Recommended Appliances

It's a pain when your kitchen appliances break but you can help yourself and me by replacing them with Energy Saving Recommended models.

To pick out energy efficient products from the pack, look out for the Energy Saving Recommended logo. The distinctive blue logo can be found on anything from fridges to tumble dryers, dishwashers and DAB Radios.

Tip 9. Gas Condensing Boiler

If your boiler is due for replacement install a gas-condensing boiler making sure insulation around the home is as good as it can be.

Save up to £235 a year on your heating bills by replacing your old boiler with an A-rated condensing boiler with a full set of heating controls.

Tip 10. Home Insulation

Improve your home insulation! You can even have cavity wall insulation put in. Top up your loft insulation and put in some draught-proofing and hot water tank insulation if you need it.

In an uninsulated home a quarter of your heat is lost through the roof.

Tip 11. Double-Glazing

Do your windows let you down? Replace all your single glazed windows with Energy Saving Recommended double-glazing to save around £135 a year on energy bills. A fifth of all the heat lost from a home is lost through windowpanes and frames.