Set your heating and/or hot water to come on only when required by using the timer on your gas or electric heating and/or hot water system (assuming there is one!). Did you know if you turn down your main thermostat by one degree, you can save about around 10% on your energy bill, while still making sure your home will be sufficiently warm enough during cold periods?
If you have not got one, make sure you install a room thermostat, a programmer and thermostatic radiator valves, as using these controls efficiently could save you in the region of about £75 a year.
Insulate your loft and wall cavities using whatever Government grants and offers you can benefit from or via energy suppliers who have contractually agreed with Goverment bodies that they will help reduce the UK's carbon emissions and assist their customers by subsidising carbon emission reduction and energy saving projects like insulation, air heat source pumps, solar power and wind turbines.
Please make sure you turn your lights off when you’re not using them. If you switch a light off even for short periods, you will save more energy than it takes for the light to start up again. This will save you around £14 a year on your annual energy bills. Replace your light bulbs as and when you can with energy efficient modern LED’s – on average changing your light bulbs could save around £35 a year on bills.
Check to see whether or not you are eligible for the Warm Home Discount. Energy suppliers can provide rebates to households on certain benefits.
In addition, your energy supplier should be able to tell you what help may be available through the Energy Company Obligation. If you need a little extra help from your energy company - including large print bills or more support during a power cut - you can apply to be included on your electricity network priority services register.
Use a bowl to wash-up rather than constantly running a tap, plus reduce your washing machine use by one cycle a week, and only fill the kettle with the water you need which could save you about £36 a year.
Spend one minute less in the shower each day, as for example if a family of four each do this they could save £75 a year on their energy and water bills.
A dripping tap can waste more than 5,300 litres of water a year, so make sure your taps are properly turned off and change washers promptly as and when taps start to drip.
Did you know a running tap wastes more than 6 litres of water every minute, so turn off the tap while brushing your teeth, shaving, or washing your face.
Replacing an inefficient shower head with a water efficient one could save a household of four people around £70 a year off gas bills and around £115 a year off water bills.
By fully turning off your appliances rather than keeping them in standby mode can save you £30 a year, plus don’t leave laptops, shavers, mobile phones and other rechargeable devices on charge unnecessarily.
Draught-proofing your windows and doors, plus also blocking cracks in floors and skirting boards can save around £20 a year on energy bills.
As soon as it gets dark close your curtains to stop heat escaping through the windows and doors.
If you plan to stay in the property you own, why not invest in it and improve your living environment by replacing any single glazed windows with A+ Energy Rated double glazed aluminium or UPVC windows (the latter being less expensive, but with slightly more chunky frames).