Thermal or heavy blinds and curtains can help trap heat and reduce draughts. Close them at night to reduce heating bills.

Still using tungsten, halogen or fluorescent bulbs? Changing to LED lighting can save energy and money.

Insulate hot water pipes along their full length. Don’t waste the energy you have used to heat your hot water.

Fitting a new insulating jacket to a bare hot water tank can save over £100 per year. Costing just a few pounds, the investment can pay itself off in a few months.

Draught excluders are a cheap way of cutting out the chill from poorly fitting doors and windows. Most are also easy to fit, a simple DIY task.

Some vulnerable people need to keep their homes warmer than normal. However, most of us can save money and energy by dressing for the weather and putting on a jumper before turning up the heating.

Use the sun to reduce your heating bills. Leave internal doors open to rooms which trap the sun so the heat can spread to other areas.

When cooking you can often use the residual heat to to save energy if you switch your cooker off just before you finish cooking. However, you still need to make sure that your food is properly cooked through.

Wash fruit and vegetables in a bowl, not under a running tap, to cut water use. Use the leftover water for your houseplants or patio pots.

Spending one minute less in the shower each day will save up to £8 a year off your energy bills, per person. With a water meter this could save a further £11 off annual water and sewerage bills. If everyone in a four-person household did this it would lead to a total saving of £75 a year.