Even chopping your food smaller can help save energy

• Only fill kettles with as much water as you need. But make sure you cover the element if you use an electric kettle.

• When cooking vegetables, use just enough water to cover the food and put a lid on. Simmer instead of boiling; less steam means less need to ventilate the room, cutting your heating costs.

• Always use the right size of pan for your cooking ring.

• Use pans that can divide into sections so you can cook several items at once. Cook big batches of food at once. It’s more energy efficient to use all the oven space available – and freeze food you don’t need that day.

• Take any shelves you don’t use out of the oven.

• Cut food into smaller sections before cooking; it may cook more quickly. Don’t keep opening the oven door while you are cooking.

• Make toast in a toaster, not under the grill.

• Use a microwave instead of the oven as much as possible – not just for reheating and defrosting, but for fresh food too. They’re quick, easy and economical to use, especially if people in your household eat at different times. Take jacket potatoes for instance. An hour in the oven; 5 minutes in the microwave.

Wash at 30°C and get every 3rd wash for free

• Always try to put a full load of washing into your washing machine or tumble dryer.

• Save energy by washing at lower temperatures. Washing clothes at 30°C instead of a higher temperature can use around 40% less electricity. Modern washing powders and detergents work just as effectively at lower temperatures so unless you have very dirty washing, bear this in mind.

• Use economy programmes on your washing machine for small loads or washing which isn’t very dirty.

• Front loading washing machines are usually more efficient.

• If the weather is fine, dry your washing outside.

• If you use a tumble dryer, spin your clothes first. They’ll dry in the tumble dryer more quickly.

• Make sure the filters in your tumble dryer are fluff free.

• You won’t have to iron everything if you don’t turn up the tumble dryer thermostat too high or dry your clothes for too long.

• Plan your ironing so you don’t have to keep changing the temperature setting on your iron. Iron the clothes that need a cooler setting first, and finish with clothes that need the hottest setting.

• Buying a new washing machine or dryer? Look for the Energy Saving Recommended logo. They will be more energy efficient and cost less to run. An energy-saving washing machine can save you up to £8 a year on your electricity bill!

Handy tips for fridges and freezers

• Don’t put your fridge or freezer next to a cooker or in the sun. Make sure air can circulate around the back.

• Load and unload the fridge as quickly as possible. Don’t leave the fridge door open for longer than you need to.

• Never put hot food in a fridge or freezer. Let it cool first.

• Defrost your fridge or freezer regularly. Check the manufacturer’s instructions for more details. Ice should never be more than a quarter of an inch (6mm) thick around the ice box. Check for gaps in door seals that could let warm air in. Place a piece of paper in the door, if you can easily remove the paper with the door closed, then the door is letting warm air into the fridge. Upright freezers are less efficient than chest freezers. Cool air drops out of an upright when you open the door.

• When buying a new fridge or freezer, check the energy label and buy the most energy-efficient appliance possible. It will cost much less to run. Use a thermometer to make sure you have set the thermostat in your fridge or freezer to the correct temperature. If it’s too low your appliance will use more energy, and will not keep your food as effectively.

One energy-saving bulb could save you up to £7 a year

• Here's some other easy ways you can lighten your bill:

• Turn off any lights you don’t need. But do make sure you have enough lighting on stairs and hallways.

• Keep your lampshades and bulbs clean. They give out less light if they are dirty. Darker lampshades give out less light, so use lighter shades to make the most of the energy.

• Fit lower wattage bulbs wherever possible.

• Spotlights can be more expensive to run than other lighting, so avoid leaving them on for a long time.

• Fluorescent tubes give out more light and are the best choice for kitchens.

• Think about buying fittings designed for low-energy lights.

• Fit timers and automatic sensors to lights, especially outside lighting. This will save you money.

• In most homes, lighting accounts for around 20%–25% of the electricity bill. A substantial amount of the energy needed for lighting could be saved by replacing ordinary lamps with compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) – aka “energy saving light bulbs”. OK so they may be more expensive to buy than normal tungsten lamps, but CFLs last up to 10 times longer. So for each one you fit, you could save up to £7 a year or £60 over the bulb’s lifetime.

• Plus because they use less than a quarter of the energy of traditional bulbs to create the same amount of light, energy saving light bulbs come in much lower wattages.

Don’t put it on if it’s only half full

• If you have a dishwasher, wait until you have a full load before you use it.

• Pre-rinse dishes in cold water instead of hot.

• Use economy programmes whenever possible.

Our homes are full of appliances that use energy all the time.

• Your TV, DVD and hi-fi use energy when not in use – up to 90% in standby mode. (In some households, it’s the equivalent of leaving a 100W light bulb on all year).

  Generally only the following appliances need to be powered all the time:

  • Home security systems and sensor lights
  • Gas and oil boilers and heating controls
  • Remote garage door openers
  • Standby reduction devices

• Everything else like your TV can be switched off at the wall. To help reduce your energy use further, buy models with low consumption and switch them off at the wall when not in use. You’ll be surprised how much you save!

• Not only should you switch your TV off but also all devices attached to it or your computer for example - modems, speakers, scanners and DVD players can all be left running even when we think we’ve switched them off.

• A standby reduction device will automatically turn these off when you switch off your TV or computer. All you have to do is plug the TV or computer into the socket allocated on the standby reduction device, and when it’s switched to standby – hey presto! – it automatically turns off all the other devices.

• The power switch on many new appliances does not completely switch off all the power. To be absolutely sure, switch it off at the wall or unplug it.

• Before you buy a new appliance, check its energy efficiency. This can vary from model to model and new appliances are getting better all the time. For example, if you replaced the fridge-freezer you bought in 1995 with an Energy Saving Recommended one, you could save £45 a year just on the amount of electricity used.

Always look for energy labels.

• These give each appliance an energy efficient rating on a scale from A (most efficient) to G (least efficient). Go for ‘A’ rated appliances wherever possible – they’re better for the environment and cost much less to run.

Some appliances are super-efficient.

• The pinnacle of energy efficiency. Demonstrating the kind of energy efficiency all the appliances aspire to. These have an A+ or A++ label. At the moment, manufacturers only have to put energy labels on fridges, freezers, fridge-freezers, dishwashers, washing machines, electric tumble dryers, electric ovens, air conditioners and lightbulbs. But for other appliances you can look in the manufacturer’s brochure to check how much energy they use.

• Look out for the Energy Saving Recommended logo as these are the most energy efficient models.

• Showers are usually cheaper than baths because they use less water, but there is an exception. If you run a power shower for more than 4–5 minutes it actually uses more water than it would take to fill a bath.

• You can enjoy the feel of a power shower but cut the cost considerably by fitting a ‘low flow shower head’. This mixes air with water, to give you the feel of an invigorating shower but reduces the amount of water by up to 70%.

Control your heating and take control of your bills

• Turn your heating down by 1°C and save up to 10% on your energy bill

  You want to make sure that heating and hot water are only provided when and where they’re needed. A properly controlled heating system should have:

• A Programmer – to set ‘on/off’ periods

  Some models switch the central heating and hot water on/off at the same time

  Others allow hot water and the heating to come on and go off at different times

• A room thermostat – to select the required room temperature

  Switches off your heating when your room gets to the right temperature

  Set it between 18°C and 21°C

• A cylinder thermostat (if you have a separate hot water tank)

  Controls the temperature of the water in your hot water tank. Turn it down to 60°C for water that’s hot enough to kill off harmful bacteria. Any higher and you’ll not just waste energy, you’ll also increase the risk of scalding

• Thermostatic Radiator Valves (TRVs)

  These let you control the temperature of each room separately. They sense the air temperature and switch radiators on and off automatically

Gas can be a very controllable, quick response way to cook

• Gas – especially in gas hobs – can be a very efficient way to cook. However, you can still reduce the amount of gas you use and save money by following some simple energy saving tips.

  • Never use a cooker to heat a room
  • Make sure you use the right size pan to completely cover the burner
  • When cooking vegetables, only use enough water to cover the food and put a lid on the saucepan
  • Cut food into smaller pieces before cooking to help it cook quicker
  • Turn down the gas as soon as the water boils
  • Remember – you don’t need to pre-heat gas grills and ovens for most dishes