Simple ways to save energy at home

Self-adhesive foam strips, brush seals and draught excluders are inexpensive and can be fitted without a tradesperson. Letterboxes, keyholes and cat flaps are small gaps that sit right in the path of prevailing wind.

Gaps between floorboards and along skirting boards let cold air in from underfloor voids. A flexible sealant or filler closes them, though on suspended timber floors the underfloor space itself must stay ventilated.

An open flue is a permanent hole in the roof. An inflatable chimney balloon or a removable draught excluder placed in the flue stops the warm air escaping — and must be taken out before the fire is ever used again.

Most modern detergents work perfectly well at 30°C, and the heating of the water is where the electricity goes. Running one less wash a week and waiting for a full load saves on both energy and water.

Tumble dryers are among the most expensive appliances in the house to run. Where clothes are dried indoors instead, use a closed room with the window vent or extractor open, so the moisture leaves the building rather than settling on cold walls.

Boiling a full kettle for one cup wastes electricity several times a day. The same principle applies to using the microwave or a lid on the pan instead of heating a large oven for a small job.

LEDs use a fraction of the electricity of halogen or incandescent bulbs and last far longer. Replacing the bulbs in the rooms used most in the evening gives the quickest return, and turning lights off when leaving a room still adds up.

Topping insulation up to 270mm is one of the strongest returns of any measure, at a cost of a few hundred pounds for an average semi-detached house. Check for damp and keep the roof space ventilated before adding depth.

Around a third of the heat lost from an uninsulated home goes through the walls. Whether the answer is cavity fill, internal boards or an external system depends entirely on how the wall is built.

An old, oversized or poorly controlled boiler wastes fuel regardless of how well the fabric performs. Servicing, correct controls and balanced radiators come before any decision to replace the system.

Turning the room thermostat down by one degree. It costs nothing, is rarely noticeable once the house settles and typically saves around £100 a year. Taking appliances off standby and switching remaining bulbs to LEDs are the next easiest changes, and neither needs a tradesperson.

Sealing gaps around windows, doors, floors and skirting boards typically saves around £40 a year, and blocking an unused chimney adds roughly £55 more. Materials for a DIY job usually come in under £100, so the outlay is normally recovered within the first heating season.

It can, if purpose-provided ventilation is sealed up along with the unwanted gaps. Airbricks, underfloor vents, trickle vents and any ventilation serving a gas appliance or open flue must stay clear. If windows begin streaming with condensation after the work, the house needs more ventilation rather than more sealing.

For most homes, no. Heating an empty property loses energy through the fabric all day, so a timer set around the hours the house is occupied usually costs less. In a poorly insulated home the difference narrows, which is why insulation and controls are worth addressing together.

They are indicative figures for a typical UK household and are useful for ranking measures against each other, not for budgeting. Actual savings depend on the size and construction of the property, how it is occupied, the heating system and the tariff you are on.

When you are about to spend meaningful money, when the property is old or traditionally built, or when there is already damp, condensation or mould. A survey identifies where the heat is actually going and whether a measure suits the construction, so the spend goes to the right place in the right order.