Seven ways to slash your energy bills

UK households are wasting hundreds of millions on energy bills due to poor insulation in their homes.

With icy draughts creeping through 17 million inadequately protected homes (according to the Energy Savings Trust), we are consuming ever-increasing amounts of energy at a time when prices are at near record highs. And this of course has an adverse knock-on effect on the environment.

Yet amazingly, an Energy Savings Trust survey last year found that less than one in 20 people has considered improving their home’s insulation – even though it could cut hundreds of pounds off their annual energy bills.

Whether you’re looking to save the environment, or simply save money, there are a number of simple and cost efficient steps that can have a substantial impact over time.

Here are seven simple ways you can cut your home’s energy costs.

There is absolutely no point in planning any further energy saving or green improvements to your home unless it is already able to retain any heat generated.

And certainly the first port of call when it comes to insulation should be your loft. It is the cheapest and simplest method, yet the results can be astounding. If everyone in the UK installed loft insulation to the advised level of 27cm (10.5"), we would save £560 million a year, says the Energy Saving Trust.

A gas heated semi-detached house with three bedrooms can cut annual heating costs by as much as £170 or 25%. Most homes already have some insulation present though, so savings are more likely to be in the region of £30 – which isn’t too bad considering you can do it yourself for around £140.

The only way to work out how much insulation you have is to check yourself, but the Trust reckons that homes built before 1990 are only likely to have four inches or less and should be ‘topped up’.

According to energy saving site Do Change, uninsulated walls account for up to a third of your home’s heat loss. Unfortunately it is more expensive than loft insulation to rectify, costing anywhere from £260 to £1500.

First you need to work out what type of walls you have - cavity or solid. Check by measuring the thickness of the wall at any window or door. Cavity walls are at least 30cm (12") thick, whereas solid walls are normally only 22.5cm (9") thick, Do Change explains.

If your house was built between 1930 and 1980, you probably have un-insulated cavity walls.

These are the cheapest to insulate, and will typically cut fuel bills by between £75 and £150 a year. You will have to call in a professional though, who injects the insulating material into the external wall by drilling a series of small holes.

Give careful consideration to the type of material you want to use. Polyurethane and glass fibre are cheaper, but aren’t as environmentally friendly as sheep’s wool, which is up to four times more expensive.

For solid walls, insulation will also need to be professionally done - and will be far more expensive, as the chart below shows.

Double-glazing can save you £80-£100 a year on heating bills, cutting your CO2 emissions by 680kg a year in the process.

You can also keep water hot for longer by insulating your hot water cylinder with British Standard jackets. These are available at most DIY stores.

Make sure you get one that is more than 7.5cm (3") thick. This will probably only save you around £5 a year, but the jackets are cheap and easy to install.

Obviously not everyone will be able to afford insulation for their homes, so the government offers a grant of up to £2700 to certain eligible parties.

Do your research thoroughly – there may well be help for you to go green and save money on your gas and electricity at the same time.

Gas may make up the largest part of our energy bills, but simple changes to our electricity habits could significantly reduce your outlays.

Around 10-15% of our electricity bill goes on lighting. So if you haven’t done so already, switch to energy saving light bulbs, which last up to 12 times longer and use up to 75% less energy. That means they can save you £78 over their lifetime.

The average household also wastes £37 each year by leaving appliances like TVs and DVD players on standby. A word of warning though: certain electronic equipment can get damaged by continually switching it on and off at the wall.

If you’re shopping for a new dishwasher, boiler or even just light bulbs, always look for the Energy Saving Recommended logo.

It means the product is the most energy efficient in its category, which will cost less to run and help prevent climate change.