A massive 80% of the energy you use for your house is for heating, turning down your thermostat a degree or two can make a massive saving while installing good insulation and a more efficient boiler will cut your fuel bills and your carbon emissions. More than half the heat lost in an uninsulated home escapes through the walls or the roof.

Installing loft insulation could save you up to £225 a year and installing cavity wall insulation could save you £110 a year on average.Installing cavity wall insulation can take just a couple of hours for a typical three-bedroom house, and can be done from the outside. Your building needs to have cavity walls. You can insulate solid walls too, but this is a bigger and more costly job to do. Loft insulation is easy to install – you can even do it yourself. If you already have loft insulation, check how thick it is. Adding another layer to bring it up to the recommended 270 millimetres will save both energy and money being wasted.

Take control of your heating and save money

You can cut a surprising amount of wasted energy with clever use of your central heating controls. These can include:

• Thermostats for heating and hot water
• Radiator valves with thermostats included
• Electronic timers

Taking a few simple steps can save you money and reduce your carbon footprint:

• use the timer to make sure the heating is only on when you need it
• when you move house, ask the landlord or the people moving out to show you how the controls work
• if you’re having a new boiler or hot water cylinder put in, ask the person installing it to talk you through the controls – and ask for a follow-up visit
• try turning the room thermostat down by just one degree Celsius – you could save as much as 10 per cent on your heating bills

Keep the heat in

• double glazing can cut heat loss through windows by half
• insulate your hot-water tank
• lag your pipes
• put draught-proofing strips round windows and doors – if you can feel cold air coming in, it means warm air is going out the same way
• if your home has a cellar space, under-floor insulation can help keep the warmth in

Data obtaned from Direct Gov – © Crown copyright