Green Energy UK, the power supplier devoted to energy efficiency, gives us ten ways to cut down our consumption.

1. Turn it down!

Turn your thermostat down just 2 degrees C and you’ll cut as much as 10 per cent off your heating bill - if you and your friends’ households all did this you could save 3.6 tonnes of CO2 per year.

2. Switch it off at the set!

Switch off your TV, video, DVD or stereo. Leaving them on standby wastes 10 – 60 per cent electricity. If just 10 households switched off their TV sets, one tonne of CO2would be saved each year.

3. Chill to perfection

Make sure run efficiently - defrost your fridge and freezer regularly and set them to the right temperature. Buying an energy efficient fridge could save you up to £35 a year on your electricity bill and help reduce your carbon dioxide output

4. Fill up your washing machine (and dishwasher)

Keep your weekly number of washes down by using full loads. It will save you money on water, electricity, soap – and you’ll help the environment.

5. Fit fitter light bulbs

Energy saving light bulbs will save you around £10 a year. If everyone in the UK installed just one energy saving light bulb, the carbon dioxide emissions saved would fill the Royal Albert Hall in London nearly 3,000 times!

6. Insulate your tank

Fit a lagging jacket around your hot water tank and stop heat escaping. If everyone in the UK did this emissions would be reduced by 2.5 million tonnes (the volume of 400,000 hot air balloons).

7. ... and your walls

Install cavity wall insulation. More than 40 per cent of the heat generated in your home is lost through the walls and roof. Insulating your walls could cut your fuel bills by £70-£100 per year and save large amounts of carbon dioxide from escaping into the atmosphere. It would normally pay for itself within three to five years.

8. ... and your loft too

Save £20-30 on your fuel bills and a tonne of CO2 emissions by fitting 180mm of loft insulation - it will only cost you £200 but will stop 25 per cent of the heat from your house disappearing through the roof. The amount of heat lost annually through roofs and walls is enough to heat three homes.

9. Install an energy efficient boiler

If your boiler is over 15 years old it may not be energy efficient - replacing with a condensing boiler could save you money and reduce your emissions.

10. Unplug your phone charger when not in use

Always unplug your phone charger when not in use. We waste a staggering 95 per cent of the energy used by mobile phone chargers and emit 50,000 tonnes of CO2 by not unplugging them or switching them off at the socket. A forest with an area equivalent to almost 500 football pitches would be needed to absorb these emissions!

www.greenenergy.uk.com