secured websites,Average annual gas and electricity bill for a family living

Heat InsulationQuick stats ￡1,044 Average annual gas and electricity bill for a family living in athree-bedroom house, according to Ofgem 51% Amount by which gas and electricity bills have risen over the pastfive years (Ofgem) 47% Proportion of households that have never switched their energysupplier (University of East Anglia) Simple saver Up to ￡250 Do a free home energy check at energysavingtrust.org.uk and you'll receive a report telling you how you can save up to￡250 a year on your household energy bills. If you wouldrather have a paper copy to complete, call 0800 512 012 and speakto your local Energy Saving Trust advice centre. Advanced saving tips 1. Switch suppliers If you've never switched your gas or electricity supplier, youcould save ￡100 a year on average, according to the fuelregulator Ofgem. The exact amount you'll save by switching dependson the suppliers you're with now, how much fuel you use and how youpay your bills. Energywatch, the independent watchdog for gas and electricityconsumers, offers free information and advice on how to switchsuppliers at energywatch.org.uk or on its helpline 08459 060708. Once you've got that advice, goto one of the comparison websites to work out which suppliers wouldbe best for you and how cash much you'd save by switching. Websitesthat are worth checking out include: theenergyshop.com , uswitch.com , moneysupermarket.com and energyhelpline.com 2. Upgrade your heating and hot water system A new, high-efficiency condensing boiler with heating controlscould save you up to ￡200 a year. Compare the efficiency ofdifferent boilers at boilers.org.uk . Heating controls including a programmer and thermostatic radiatorvalves will keep your home at a comfortable temperature, making itwarm when you want it but switching off when you don't. 3. Reduce your heating bills Turn your room heating thermostat down by 1°C and cut yourheating bills by up to 10%; this simple measure could save youaround ￡40 per year. Other simple ways to cut your heating bills include closing yourcurtains at dusk to stop heat escaping through the windows. Andkeep furniture away from radiators if possible - an upholsteredsofa will block the heat, stopping it getting into the room. Also, don't forget to open internal doors to rooms that get themost sun - after all, the sun is the cheapest form of energy.Opening doors to sunny rooms mean that the warm air circulatesthroughout the house rather than remaining trapped in one room. Don't crank up your domestic water to a scalding temperature -setting your cylinder thermostat to 60°C/140°F should beadequate. Fix dripping taps and turn them off properly - a dripping hot watertap wastes energy and enough hot water in one week to fill half abath. If you're not filling up your washing machine, tumble dryer ordishwasher, use the half-load or economy programme. And use thewashing machine's 30°C wash if possible, saving you up tothree-quarters the cost of the hottest cycle. In the kitchen, onlyboil as much water as you need. 4. Choose energy-efficient appliances The "Energy Saving Recommended" logo guarantees that products havemet strict criteria on energy efficiency and will cost less to run."A" is the most efficient energy rating, "G" the least;refrigeration products now go up to A++. Search for products usingthe Energy Saving Recommended database at energysavingtrust.org.uk 5. And don't waste electricity Use energy-saving light bulbs - just one can save you ￡60over the lifetime of the bulb as they last up to 10 times longerthan ordinary lightbulbs. Only use the heat and light appliances you really need. Switchlights off when you leave a room. Don't leave TVs, DVD players andcomputers on standby and don't leave appliances like mobile phonesand toothbrushes on charge unnecessarily. 6. Draught-proof your house In a typical home, 20% of all heat-loss is through poor ventilationand draughts. This is easily remedied with foams and sealantsavailable at most DIY stores, and you should save around ￡20a year on your heating bills. Products should conform to thestandard BS 7386. 7. Insulate your loft ... Without loft insulation, which acts as a blanket trapping heatrising from the house below, you could be losing as much as 15% ofyour heating costs through your roof. Insulating your loft, whichyou can do yourself, is an effective way to reduce your heatingbills. If you currently have no loft insulation and you install therecommended 270mm depth, you could save around ￡110 a year onyour bills. Lag your pipes and water tank at the same time for optimumefficiency - fitting a British Standard jacket around your hotwater cylinder will cut heat loss by over 75%. A new 80mm thickjacket costing around ￡12 will save you ￡20 a year onyour fuel bill. 8. Your walls ... Around a third of all the heat lost in an uninsulated home is lostthrough the walls. If your home has unfilled cavity walls,insulating them could cut your heating costs by 15% and save youaround ￡90 a year on fuel bills. It will take a professionaltwo to three hours to carry out the insulation work in a three-bedsemi-detached house and cost around ￡500. If your home has solid walls, heat loss can be reduced byinsulating them on the inside or the outside. External wallinsulation is more expensive than cavity wall insulation, but cansave you around ￡300 a year on your energy bills. Internalwall insulation is cheaper and again can save around ￡300 ayear on your bills. 9. And your floors Timber floors can be insulated by lifting the floorboards andlaying mineral wool insulation supported by netting between thejoists. Doing this on the ground floor will save around ￡40 ayear on heating bills. Using a silicon sealant to fill gaps betweenfloorboards and skirting boards to stop draughts will save you afurther ￡15 a year - but don't block under-floor airbricks inyour outside walls, as floorboards will rot without adequateventilation. 10. Install double glazing Fitting double glazing - which is a professional job, not reallyfor the DIY enthusiast - can cut heat-loss through windows by halfand can save between ￡80 and ￡100 a year on yourheating bills. Costs vary considerably so the payback period willalso vary. Look for the Energy Saving Recommended logo whenchoosing windows. 11. Get your boiler serviced regularly Getting your boiler fixed in an emergency can be expensive, withcall-out charges plus VAT and parts running to hundreds of pounds -especially if your boiler dies on a weekend or a holiday, as theyinevitably do. Get it serviced regularly instead and catch problemsbefore they become crises. Planet saver Generate your own power. Renewable energy technologies such assolar panels, wind turbines and biomass heaters are becomingincreasingly popular. Solar PV (photovoltaic), for example, usesenergy from the sun to create electricity to run appliances andlighting. For the average domestic system, costs can be between￡5,000 and ￡8,000 per kWp installed, with most domesticsystems usually between 1.5 and 3kWp. Installing a system couldsave between ￡150 and ￡200 a year, according to theEnergy Saving Trust. Grab a grant, too. The government's low-carbon buildings programmeprovides grants of up to ￡2,500 for installing renewableenergy technologies in the home. Apply online at lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk/home . You can find out about grants by using the EST's online searchfacility.