Remember to switch off all appliances when you go out. Think of things such as lights, heating, stereo, television, computer... Make a special point of checking the lights – people don’t always notice that lights have been left on during the day.

Don’t always use the remote control to switch things off. Now and again make a point of switching the television, computer, video or stereo off manually. In stand-by mode these appliances continue to use quite a lot of electricity. Appliances can also burn out on stand-by mode.

Halogen light, mobile phone, dustbuster and electric toothbrush adapters continue to use electricity even when the appliance is switched off. So pull the plug out of the socket when you are not using the appliance, or use a multi-socket extension lead with an ‘On’-‘Off’ switch. 

Make sure the room is heated to a pleasant temperature. That way any condensation that has settled on cold surfaces will be reabsorbed into the air.

Switch the heating off.

Now open a door or window at both ends of your room so the damp air can escape.

Once you can feel that the damp air has left the room, you can close the windows. This usually takes two to five minutes. By airing the room for such a short period you don’t lose much heat.

Once you have closed the windows you can switch the heating on again.

Turn your heating, or the thermostat, to a lower setting. Just one degree cooler will reduce your energy consumption by 7%.

Hang the curtains behind the radiator and keep the space around the radiator as clear as possible so the heat given off by the radiator is able to penetrate into your room.

Turn the heating off or down half an hour before you go to bed. That will make a difference of a few degrees and you will usually want to turn your heating off when you go to bed.

Don’t leave an outside window or a door that opens onto an unheated space open while your heating is switched on.

A full fridge uses far less energy than an empty fridge. If you have eaten all of the food in your fridge, fill your fridge with bottles of water or another drink of your choice. This will help to keep the fridge cool.

Leave a gap of at least ten centimetres between the fridge and the wall. (This also applies to the freezer.) This will enable the heat to escape and the fridge and freezer will use less energy.

Defrost frozen food in your fridge. That way the frozen food will help to keep the fridge cold as it thaws and the fridge will use less energy.

Only run the washing machine when the drum is full. If you want to wash or dry a small quantity of laundry, be sure to use the eco or small wash setting on the washing machine or tumble dryer.

A 40-degree wash cycle will be hot enough to clean the laundry and kill any bacteria. Detergent kills most bacteria at 16 degrees.

Do your washing up in a bowl. The kitchen sink holds far more water than you need for most washing up and the water will also cool down too quickly.