Think before your print. Reducing the amount of material you print has a long list of benefits including saving paper, chemicals and electricity. More and more offices and industries are going paper free, so think about how you can reduce any printing you do.

Use a microwave. Generally a microwave oven is the most efficient way to heat up and cook food.

Cavity wall insulation can help prevent heat loss through your walls. Consider getting this retro-fitted if you still have uninsulated walls.

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.

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.

A dripping tap can waste at least 5,500 litres of water a year. If this is hot water you’re also wasting the energy used to heat it. Get leaking taps fixed promptly.

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.

Switch off radiators in any rooms you are not using regularly and keep internal doors shut to save 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.

Make sure your pans fully cover the rings on your hob to use all of the heat being provided. Use the right sized ring for the pan you are heating.