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!

Electric storage hot water units use energy all the time they are switched on. Consider fitting them with time switches so they are only working when they are needed.

If your charger has an LED to show it’s in use, it is still using energy until you switch it off at the wall or unplug it.

Energy and waste champions can engage users with energy efficiency in your buildings. They are a great way of encouraging simple energy efficiency measures and can involve students in schools and colleges whilst providing an additional educational experience. #StudentVoice

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.

Properly used, dishwashers use less water and energy than washing dishes by hand. However, make sure you only wash full loads and don’t pre-rinse everything in the sink first unless it really needs it.

Keeping the oven door closed while you are cooking helps keep your oven at a stable temperature. It can also improve your cooking whilst saving you energy.

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.

Make sure your computers are programmed to shut down and save power when not in use. Most operating systems have built in power settings and the capability of being switched on or off remotely if required. If you need them on for network upgrades and backups, commit to running these on a specific schedule and build this into you power settings. You’ll be surprised how much energy you can save.

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.