Washing a small load of clothes? Check you washing machine’s settings to see if you can use the “half load” programme to save water and energy.

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.

Carbon monoxide is a silent killer. Every year in the UK it kills around 50 people and sends 4000 to A&E for emergency treatment. Make sure you get all your combustion appliances properly serviced and fit an alarm. Good quality alarms are available from most DIY suppliers and take minutes to fit. It could save your life!

Smart controls can help ensure your home is comfortable and energy efficient.

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.

Check the programmer on your heating and hot water to make sure the timings match your needs. If you don’t have a seven-day programmer fitted consider getting one.

Giving your plants’ roots a good soaking once or twice a week in dry weather is much better than lightly watering them every day because most of that water just evaporates away. However, new plants do need regular watering until they are established.