How to save up to £250 a year

16:36 30 December 2009

With the New Year comes new promises, and implementing energy efficient measures in your home will not only be good for the environment but will significantly cut your household bills.

For example, the most common waste of energy is poor roof insulation, which could put an extra £170 a year on a householder's fuel bills. A further potential saving of £120 could be made if cavity walls were filled.

Those keen to make extra savings can slash a further £60 off their annual energy bill by:

• Turning down indoor heating by 1 degree (£30 saving)
• Investing in energy saving light bulbs (£7 saving)
• Buying an insulation jacket for the hot water cylinder (£10-£20 saving)

A few measures like this can pay dividends towards reducing household expense."

Top tips for energy saving:

• To eliminate draughts and wasted heat, use an easy-to-fix brush or PVC seal on exterior doors
• Take showers instead of baths - an ordinary shower uses only 2/5 of the water needed for a bath
• If your boiler is more than 15-years-old invest in a new one, to save up to a third on heating bills
• Always switch lights off as soon as you leave a room and adjust your curtains and blinds to let as much light in as possible during the daylight hours. Close your curtains at dusk to stop the heat escaping through the windows
• Always ensure you turn your taps off correctly - a dripping hot water tap can waste enough water to fill a bath
• Do not put hot food in the freezer or leave the fridge door open too long
• Regularly defrost your freezer and check the seals to make your appliances more efficient
• Replace light bulbs with energy saving light bulbs, which last 10 times longer, especially if you use a light for more than four hours a day.
• Insulate your hot water tank with a British Standard jacket thats at least 7.5cm thick - you could save you £15 a year
• Do not fill your kettle to the maximum each time you make a cup of tea. Instead, fill it with just enough water for the number of cups you are making
• Make sure you always have a full load before running your washing machine and set the programme no higher than 40 degrees
• Turn your thermostat down a degree and put your heating and hot water on a timer
• Double-glazing is one of the best ways of keeping heat in, but secondary glazing is a suitable cheaper alternative and is available at most DIY shops