Improve Your Home's Energy Efficiency in 10 Easy Steps

Using less energy is the easiest and quickest way of reducing global warming in the future.

We have put together some simple tips to show how you can cut the amount of energy you use without it costing you a penny, as well as some, low cost actions you can take which will pay for themselves in little or no time.

For instance, did you know that the quickest and most cost effective way of improving your energy efficiency is by installing insulation? Insulation made with recycled glass (glasswool) is particularly environmentally friendly - and insulation requires no maintenance and will provide energy savings year after year, performing as good as the day it was installed. That's why so much of this site is dedicated to different ways to improve your home's insulation.

Tips to improve energy efficiency.

1. Turn down your central heating by 1°C It could cut your heating bills by up to 10%. If you feel it's too cold, just pop on an extra layer of clothing like a T shirt under a shirt or a jumper or cardigan.

2. Don't leave appliances on standby. How often do you leave the TV on standby when you go to bed? That TV, DVD player, HiFi, video recorder are all munching electricity - so turn them off.

3. Unplug mobile phone chargers. It's handy to leave your mobile phone charger plugged into the wall, but if its switched on even without the phone attached it will be using electricity.

4. Set your hot water to 60°C. For most people, setting the cylinder thermostat at 60°C/°F is fine for bathing and washing.

5. Don't overfill your kettle. It's easy to over fill a kettle, but try and only boil the amount of water you need (Always remember to ensure you boil the minimum amount for the safe use of the kettle - see your kettle's user guide if in doubt).

6. Turn off lights when you leave the room. Always turn lights off when you leave a room and adjust your curtains or blinds to let in as much light as possible during the day.

7. Use economy mode on the dishwasher and 30°C to wash your clothes. Try and use low temperature programmes, and ensure you wash full loads.

8. Draw the curtains. Close your curtains at dusk to stop heat escaping through the windows - even in rooms you're not using.

9. Take a shower not a bath.
Water requires a lot of energy to heat it up, and a typical shower uses just 20% of the hot water a bath uses.

10. Put a plug in it!. Always put the plug in your basin or sink. Leaving hot water taps running with it removed is akin to washing money down the plughole.