Fitting a new insulating jacket to a bare hot water tank can save over £100 per year. Costing just a few pounds, the investment can pay itself off in a few months.

Thermal or heavy blinds and curtains can help trap heat and reduce draughts. Close them at night to reduce heating bills.

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.

Still using tungsten, halogen or fluorescent bulbs? Changing to LED lighting can save energy and money.

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.

Fit a water butt to collect rainwater. Your roof collects about 85,000 litres of rain each year (around 450 butts full). That’s water you can use for your plants and to wash the car, and it’s free!

About a quarter of all our clean, drinkable water at home is flushed down the toilet. Place a sealed bottle of water or brick in your cistern to reduce this amount.

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.

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

Save energy with your washing machine. Modern washing powders often let you achieve the same results with lower temperatures.