Fit energy saving light bulbs wherever you can.

Switch off or unplug phone chargers when not in use.

Switch off  TV sets and other electrical equipment rather than leaving them on standby.

Check your heating system timer is programmed correctly, so you are not heating up an empty house.

Try turning down the heating thermostat a degree or two, if you still feel comfortable leave it turned down.

If you have an old wall thermostat (dial type) with a bi-metal strip, change it for an electronic one which are much more accurate.

Make sure the loft is well insulated, keep a lookout during the summer months at your local DIY stores, as they usually have great deals on loft insulation, two packs for one etc, which makes for great savings. 

Check doors and windows for draughts (preferably on a windy day as it makes them much easier to detect). If you detect a draught fit some draught excluder around the offending door or window frame.

Ensure your hot water tank is well insulated with a suitable jacket.

Fit radiator reflective foil.

If the water coming out of your hot water tap from the immersion heater is extremely hot, check the immersion heater thermostat on the tank and turn it down, try it set at a lower setting until you find the one you are happy with.

Educate yourself and other family members on getting into the habit of switching things off when not in use, especially room lights when the room is not occupied, not leaving external doors open or windows during cold spells of weather.

If you are boiling water in your electric kettle, don’t fill it up to make one cup, as long as the water level is a couple of inches (50mm) above the top of the heating element it will be sufficient.

Fill dishwashers and washing machines to their recommended level rather than using them twice for the same amount (this one is a regular family pastime in my home, one sweatshirt washed for 80 minutes, drives me nuts).

Heat from radiators can be partially absorbed by the wall behind them, more so if the radiator is on an outside wall. 

Radiator foil is simply foil attached to a thin layer of polystyrene. It comes in two forms, the first is on a roll, the second is in the form of tiles, both are around 500mm in width and usually come with sticky pads to attach the foil to the wall behind the radiator.

It works by reflecting the heat from the back of the radiator away from the wall thus making the radiator more efficient and therefore heating costs should be reduced.

The foil roll and foil tiles are available at good DIY stores and would cost approximately £10 per average size radiator.

Low energy lamps have been around for several years, they do save a lot of energy compared to the old faithful light bulb and therefore they help to reduce emissions, not to mention your electricity bill.

They are available in a lot of shapes to suit light fittings and different wattage outputs. A low energy lamp of 9 watts / 20 watts, gives an output approximately equal to  light bulbs of 40 watts and 100 watts respectively which is a big reduction in power usage and they have a much longer lifespan compared to an everyday light bulb, lasting up to six times as long. All the low energy lamps are available to suit different lamp holders, i.e. Bayonet cap (BC), Edison screw (ES), Miniature Edison screw (MES), etc.

For me personally the low energy lamp has a couple of faults, the first is when you switch on the lamp there can sometimes be a slight delay before it comes on, the second is from when the lamp is switched on it can take some time before it reaches its  full output, so if you want instant bright light such as in a storeroom they are not, in my opinion suitable unless you don’t mind waiting a short while.

That said they are improving all the time, but I suspect that by the time everyone is happy to use them, LED (Light Emitting Diodes) lamps will be in the shops which use negligible power, and as far as I am aware will last for even longer before a replacement is required. It was thought at one time that they would not be bright enough to be practical, but having installed LED lighting myself I would disagree, the LED down lighters and self adhesive LED strips that I have installed recently from Screwfix were more than adequate. LED lamps are now available to replace low voltage halogen lamps and are much more practical as they give off less heat, which was always a problem with halogen lamps i.e. fire risk and reduced lamp life, they are being manufactured in a tube form to replace fluorescent tubes although I think this version is a little expensive at the moment but they do produce a good level of light. There are LED floodlights for commercial and home installation available and again, although a little expensive, the running cost savings, especially on a commercial premises such as a loading yard are such that they should pay for themselves in quite a short time. Using low energy and LED lamps will no doubt help to reduce everyone’s carbon footprint, I like most people want to reduce my energy bills and fitting low energy lamps is definitely going to help.

Installing loft insulation is one energy saving measure that is easy to carry out and should pay for itself in around two years. It works by stopping the heat in your home from being lost through the roof of the property. The recommended depth of insulation is 270mm but any depth to start with will save you money on your heating bills.

This is a DIY job I would recommend carrying out in the cooler months of the year, lofts in the summer months aren’t the most pleasant places to be working in, and that combined with loft insulation fibres and dust can make the job very unpleasant to carry out, but it is one of those DIY jobs that will definitely save you money and is therefore very worthwhile doing.

 Safety tip 1 :- You should wear a face mask, gloves and overalls (lots of DIY stores sell paper overalls which are inexpensive) because the insulation fibres can irritate your skin and sometimes your throat. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              The insulation comes in rolls ready to lay in the loft, ideally you should place the insulation between the joists and then over them. Start by having adequate lighting in the loft, say a fluorescent hand / stand light then clear as much of the loft out of stored items as possible so you can work more easily, this is a good time to get rid of many unwanted items, which if you are like me have been meaning to throw out for the last 7 years.                                                  

 Safety tip 2 :- Remember to keep your weight on the joists otherwise you will probably end up in the bedroom below a lot quicker than you expected, you should use two or three boards to stand on and manoeuvre around the loft, these should of course be capable of withholding your weight and take care not to stand on their edge as they may tip up. 

Unroll the insulation starting at the eaves, leave a gap along the eaves of around 50mm so that air can circulate within the loft and not create any condensation problems. Cut the insulation to length when required and butt it up to the next piece. Continue until the loft space is covered with the insulation.

Safety tip 3 :- All electrical cable that is in the loft should be above the insulation to reduce the risk of it overheating, don’t place insulation underneath any cold water tanks, the heat from the ceiling below will help to stop the water freezing, all pipes and the cold water tank including the lid should be insulated using tank insulation and pipe lagging, (both of which can be held in place with tape) as the loft temperature will decrease once the loft insulation has been installed.

Fit a piece of insulation to the loft hatch using double sided tape.

Loft insulation is widely available at your local diy stores and with all the concern over energy conservation there are grants available so its worth having a good look around to get a good deal.