Top tips to help you save energy and money on your home

Photo of a Rochdale house

As the nights draw in and the weather gets colder, home-owners across the country are starting to think about turning on their central heating. But with gas and electricity bills likely to increase significantly this winter, Haynes have released their top 10 eco-friendly tips to save money and energy on your home.

Compiled by Nigel Griffiths, the author of the Eco House Manual, the tips are divided into two categories - 5 Low cost and no cost options, and 5 tips for those who are able to invest some money in making energy efficiency improvements to their homes: 

Low cost and no cost tips:

• Draughtproof your doors and windows - it's cheap, and easy to fit. More energy is often lost through the cracks than through doors and windows themselves
• Top up your loft insulation - mineral wool is very cheap in the DIY stores at the moment - most houses have 100mm but 275mm is now recommended
• Check the timer settings on your heating to switch off well before you leave the house - it'll stay warm for a good while afterwards
• Turn down the thermostat on your hot water so that you don't have to add so much cold to it
• Replace halogen light bulbs with CFL or LED versions - they're much cheaper to run and last far longer

If you're thinking of spending more money:

• Fit TRVs to all radiators 
• Install cavity wall insulation (if you have cavity walls) 
• Insulate all hot water distribution pipework
• Replace your boiler if it's more than 15 years old, or below B-rated
• Fit secondary glazing to any single glazed windows