Power to the people

By Sarah Modlock

11 January 2006

Brrrrrr. It's chilly. In an ideal world we would hibernate during the winter months. Failing that, a extra jumper and central heating will have to do the trick. Period features such as high ceilings and sash windows are lovely but they do make a home harder to get warm and keep warm. I'm sure everything above my picture rails is just toasty. Thermostats are being cranked higher in homes of every shape and size across the UK and if that doesn't work then the subsequent bills will almost certainly generate a hot flush.

Wholesale gas and electricity costs have been increasing since 2003 and increasing amounts are now being bought and imported from abroad. The knock-on effect is that our retail bills are likely to climb further. Some experts predict a drop next year prompted by improved technology and increased capacity but don't build your hopes up - suppliers may take advantage of the respite to recoup their losses.

In the meantime, compare suppliers to save money.

According to the Energy Saving Trust a new ‘energy obesity' epidemic is hitting the UK as our homes guzzle more energy than ever before. Every ‘energy obese' home could be wasting their owners as much as £250 on their annual energy bills and are responsible for the emission of around two tonnes of CO2 more than the average house - one of the leading contributors to climate change - every year.

So snuggle up close and I'll warm your heart and your bank balance with 25 ways to help you save money on your energy bills and help save the planet at the same time. Spiderman, eat your heart out.

Things you can do today

•  Stop draughts and heat escaping through floorboards and skirting boards by filling gaps with newspaper, beading or sealant.

•  Make sure your windows are draught-proofed. A low cost, short-term alternative to double glazing is to tape polythene across window frames.

•  Heating: Turn your thermostat down by 1°C and it could cut your heating bills by up to 10%. If you are going away for winter, leave the thermostat on a low setting to provide protection from freezing at minimum cost. Saving: around £30 per year.

•  Hot water: Of course it should be hot, but it doesn't need to be scalding. For most people, setting the cylinder thermostat at 60°C/140°F is fine for bathing and washing. Saving: up to £10 per year

•  Plug 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.

•  Curtains: close your curtains at dusk to stop heat escaping through the windows.

•  Lights: Always turn them off when you leave a room and adjust your curtains or blinds to let in as much light as possible during the day.

•  Televisions, DVD players, stereos, computers, cordless phones: To cut down on wasted energy avoid leaving appliances on standby and remember not to leave them on charge unnecessarily. 85% of the electricity used by your DVD player is consumed while it is not actually on

•  Fridges: Don't leave the door open for longer than necessary, as cold air will escape. Avoid putting hot or warm food straight into the fridge; allow it to cool down first. Defrost your fridge regularly to keep it running efficiently and cheaply. If it tends to frost up quickly, check the door seal. And if you absolutely have to site your fridge next to a cooker or boiler, leave a good gap between them.

•  Washing machine and tumble dryers: Always wash a full load and if you can't, use a half-load or economy programme if your machine has one. Always use the low temperature programme bearing in mind that modern washing powders will be just as effective at lower temperatures. And don't put really wet clothes into a tumble dryer; wring them out or spin-dry them first - it's much faster and it will save you money.

•  Dishwashers: Try and use the low temperature programme, and ensure you wash a full load.

•  Pots and pans: Choose the right size pan for the food and cooker (the base should just cover the cooking ring) and keep lids on when cooking. With gas, the flames only need to heat the bottom of the pan. If they lick up the side then you're wasting heat. Avoid cooking in more water than you need.

•  Kettles: Heat the amount of water you really need.

•  Taps: In just one day, a dripping hot water tap can waste energy and enough water to fill a bath. Make sure they are off.

•  Showers: An ordinary shower uses only two-fifths of the water needed for a bath. If you don't have a shower consider special attachments for your bath taps.

Things you could do over the next week or two

•  Exterior doors: To eliminate draughts and wasted heat use an easy-to-fix brush or PVC seal on your exterior doors. Remember, however, that ventilation is also important, especially if you have open fires, gas fires or a boiler with a flue.

•  Letterboxes and keyholes - fit nylon brush seals or a spring flap for the letterbox and a cover on the keyhole to prevent drafts and heat loss.

•  Lightbulbs: If you use a particular light for an average of four hours or more a day, then replace it with an energy-saving equivalent which will use around a quarter of the electricity and last up to 12 times longer. Energy efficient bulbs cost around £7 each, but will give you a saving on your bills of £10 over the year.

•  Hot water tank - fit a British Standard insulating jacket that's at least 7.5cm thick and reduce its heat loss by a whopping 75%. This will cost around £10 and will give a saving of £10-£15 a year.

•  Hot water pipes can be insulated to stop heat escaping. The best pipes to insulate are the ones between the boiler and hot water cylinder. Cost: around £1 per metre. Saving: around £5 per year.

•  Install loft insulation - this can reduce your home's heat loss and cut your bills by a third, with a potential cash saving each year of between £140-£170. If everyone in the UK installed loft insulation up to 270mm thickness, the money saved would pay the energy bills of 880,000 families for a year.

Things you could do within the next year

•  Boiler - replacing a 15-year old model could save you more than 20% on your fuel bills, around 32% if you're installing a condensing boiler and up to 40% if you also install good heating controls.

•  Cavity wall Insulation can be the most cost-effective way to save energy around the home. Up to one third of the heat in your home is lost through the walls. Expect potential savings of around £100-£120 per year. If every UK household did this, we could save nearly £900 million a year - or enough energy to heat nearly 2 million homes for the same period.

•  Double glazing: Your home could be losing up to 20% of its heat through single glazed and poorly insulated window frames. With double glazing you can actually cut these losses by over a half.

•  Domestic appliances - when you come to replace your washing machine or fridge freezer, look for the energy saving recommended logo which only appears on appliances which cost less to run and are responsible for the minimum amount of CO2 emissions. Each efficient appliance could save you around £35 per year.

Find out more

The Energy Saving Trust was set up in the UK response to a call for worldwide action at the 1992 Rio earth summit. In addition to these top tips, it's website is full of information which could help you save money and use energy in a way which is better for everyone. Take a look at the website and find out more about its Energy Slimming Plan: www.est.org.uk.