How to cut your energy bills

We are all faced with the prospect of higher gas and electricity bills this winter, but, unlike council tax, there is something we can do about it. Prices may be going up - British Gas has just announced a hike of 14.2% and EDF (whose subsidiaries include London Energy, Seeboard and SWEB) is increasing its gas and electricity prices by 12% and 10.7% respectively - but we are also using more power than we need. Electricity consumption by lights and household appliances has doubled since 1970 and is expected to rise another 12% by 2010, says Justin Harper in the Daily Mail.

This is bad for our pockets and the environment. In the UK, around 30% of carbon dioxide emissions come from energy used in our homes. Energy efficiency measures, if we all adopted them, could reduce this impact by a third, according to the Centre for Alternative Technology www.cat.org.uk.

So what can we do? The main culprit of energy use and wastage is heating: heating accounts for 58% of the average household's energy consumption and this heat is constantly being lost, most of it (35%) through the walls of our house, but also through the loft, windows and doors. There is plenty you can do to improve the insulation. If you have cavity walls, you can get insulation blown in, which takes less than a day to do, causes minimum disruption, and is likely to cost around £300. Loft insulation, which ideally should be 350mm thick, is cheaper, and can usually be done by the householder. The loft insulation will have paid for itself in a year or so; the walls in around three. To minimise heat-loss elsewhere, check for draughts using a smoking incense stick and seeing where the smoke blows horizontally. You should then use a sealant paste to seal gaps around skirting boards and between floorboards, and fit windows, catflaps, doors and letterboxes with compression and wiper seals, available from ironmongers. If you don't have double-glazing, heavy lined curtains should be hung where possible and they should be drawn at dusk to keep out draughts.

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Energy is often lost through the hot water tank. Insulating the tank and wrapping hot water pipes in foam will reduce wastage, and if you need to replace your boiler, a condensing boiler is the most efficient and will save you around a third on your heating bills (see www.boilers.org.uk for efficiency ratings on individual models). Solar water heating, not to be confused with solar heating panels, which are more expensive, may be an option. Solar water heating requires water-filled solar panels to be installed on a sunny, south-facing roof. Once the water is hot, it travels either to a coil in a hot-water cylinder, or directly into the cylinder. In Britain, solar water heating panels will typically satisfy about half your hot water needs. You can add them to most existing hot-water systems and prices start at around £2,000. You may be able to get a grant to help you install the system. Try Clear Skies or contact your Local Energy Efficiency Advice Centre on 0800-512012 for details of local grants. If you are keen to be green and save money, switch to a green electricity supplier, which uses energy from a renewable source such as wind, solar, wave, tidal power and even waste, produced from the incineration of rubbish or from methane captured from landfill.

Water conservation is becoming another big issue. Demand from homes, industry and agriculture has been steadily increasing over the past 20 years and this is likely to continue. Much of water conservation is down to common sense; shower instead of bathing, turn off taps promptly, collect rainwater in a butt for use in the garden, do your washing up in a bowl and use a bucket to wash your car instead of a hose. The next step is to install water-efficient appliances. Green Building Store is just one company offering these. Products include ultra-efficient loos made by the Swedish firm Ifo Sanitar, which sets the standard for water-efficient WCs.

Finally, make sure you aren't paying too much for the energy you do use. Millions of households still pay a few hundred pounds over the odds by not switching utility suppliers. To make sure you are getting the best deal, contact one of the switching specialists, such as uSwitch or Simply Switch, with your last four bills. You may also find you can reduce your bill with a dual-fuel deal, or by setting up a direct debit. Some fuel providers, including British Gas, even offer cashback incentives to customers who reduce their bills.

Eight energy-saving tips

Turn off lights and appliances when not in use. Leaving them on standby contributes to around 6% of your bill.

- Turning your thermostat down by just 1C will save you around £30 a year. Close doors to retain heat and turn down radiators in hallways and empty rooms.

- Look for the Energy Saving Trusts's Energy Saving Recommended (ESR) logo when buying appliances: it tells you which are the cheapest to run.

- Fit energy-saving lightbulbs. Each bulb will cut around £7 off your annual bill; over the lifetime of the bulb, you will save more than £30.

- Fridges use a lot of electricity: make sure doors are properly sealed, keep them defrosted, and don't leave the door open.

- Hang your washing out to dry instead of using the tumble-drier.

- Take advantage of natural light: sunpipes use mirrors to bring daylight into even the darkest basement. They are easy to install and can knock 75% off your lighting bill.

- Plant a hedge on the windward side of your house.