Turn radiators off or down in rooms you only use occasionally.

You don’t necessarily need to turn up the heating for babies: a room temperature of about 16°C-20°C is ideal.

Turn down the thermostat when you are going away on holiday: 5°C will prevent pipes bursting in cold weather.

Set the timer for your heating system so that it comes on about 30 minutes before you get up, or when you come home in the evening. Switch the heating off about ¹/2 hour before you leave in the morning or go to bed.

If you use plug-in electric heaters such as bar heaters, oil filled radiators or panel heaters, use them sparingly as they are very expensive to run.

Move furniture away from any radiators or heaters, to allow heat to get out into the room.

If you are too hot in your room, turn the heating down or off rather than opening a window.

Rather than turn up the heat, put on an extra layer of clothes.

Draw curtains over windows at night; they provide insulation and help to keep the heat in the room.

If your curtains are thin, line them with thicker fluffy materials, such as brushed cotton, to help keep the heat in.

Open the curtains during the day if the sun is shining on your windows, and let the sun heat your room.

Avoid covering radiators with curtains — they will funnel the heat out through the glass of the windows. Tuck them in behind, to enable the radiator heat to come into the room.

If you do not have double-glazing, you can reduce your heat loss by putting cling film over each window pane. It works very well, will reduce noise coming through the window, and should last the whole of a winter.

Keep external doors shut.

Water heated by an electric immersion heater costs more than 30p an hour. Just turn it on half an hour before you need it — and don’t forget to turn it off afterwards.

You can use less energy by taking a quick shower rather than a bath. If you use a power shower, remember that in five minutes it can use as much energy as a bath.

If you want a bath, then why not share it with a friend? It’s much more environmentally friendly!

Don’t leave hot water taps running — use the plug. If your hot water tap is leaking, fix it quickly.

If your immersion or hot water tank is not insulated, get an insulating jacket — if not, about three-quarters of the energy you are buying to heat your hot water is wasted. Insulating jackets are not expensive. Buy one that’s at feast 75mm thick.

If you don’t have a timer for your immersion heater, buy one. Set it so that the water is only heated when you need it.

It’s a myth that you use less electricity by keeping your immersion heater on all the time. It’s much cheaper and consumes less energy if water is heated only when needed.

Insulate your hot water pipes. Insulation is cheap and easy to fit: clip it around any uninsulated pipes.

Use natural light where possible.

Beware of `uplighters’: many consume a lot of electricity, using high-wattage bulbs of 300w or greater — that’s the equivalent of over 30 low-energy light bulbs! Use energy-efficient spotlights instead.

Halogen bulbs consume less electricity than conventional light bulbs, but they generally need to be used in larger numbers because each bulb only lights up a small area, so you may end up using more electricity.

Keep strip lights on, or switch them off?

Some people think that keeping strip lights on is cheaper and consumes less electricity than switching them on and off, because to restart these lights uses considerable electricity. Restarting fluorescent tubes does require some energy, but only very little. If you’re going to be out of the room for more than a couple of minutes, switch them off.

Use energy-efficient light bulbs, as they last about 12 times longer than ordinary bulbs and consume about 0.5 of the energy. They come in all shapes and sizes, including spotlights. Many energy companies and some councils are even giving them away.

Cut food into small pieces before cooking — it will cook more quickly.

Put a lid on top of the pan when you can; your meal will cook much more quickly, and you won’t be wasting energy.

Use an electric kettle to boil water for cooking.

Keep your kettle free of limescale — it will be more efficient. Fill it with a mixture of ²/3 water and ¹/3 vinegar and leave overnight. Rinse it out well, fill it with water, boil the water and throw it away.

If you are cooking with a saucepan, turn down the heat when it comes to the boil. You don’t need as much heat to keep a pot boiling as you do to get it to the boil, and the contents will cook just as quickly.

Make toast in a toaster rather than under the grill if possible.

If you’re cooking vegetables in saucepans, only use sufficient water to cover them.

Consider using a pressure cooker for cooking some foods — it reduces cooking times dramatically.

`Slow cookers‘ are a really cheap way of cooking. The cooker gently simmers away all day, using little more power than a conventional light bulb.

If you’re cooking a meal in the oven, don’t be tempted to keep on opening the oven door to see how it’s all going, as you lose a lot of heat doing this.

Plan ahead: get ready-made meals out of the freezer early enough for them to defrost without using energy.

If you are in a hurry, heat or defrost ready-made meals in a microwave rather than a conventional oven.

Don’t over-fill an electric kettle: just put in the amount of water you want, but make sure you cover the element. You’ll use less energy, it will cost less, and will come to the boil more quickly.

When cooking rice, turn off the heat 5 minutes before the end of cooking time, keep the lid on and let it finish cooking in its own steam.

Use a steamer for vegetables — you can cook two or three vegetables on one element or gas ring.

Make one-pot meals that only need one element or gas ring.

Use your oven efficiently by filling up as much of the space as possible.

Cook two days’ meals at once in the oven and utilise the space. Reheating will use less energy than starting from scratch on day two.

When using a non-fan-assisted oven, food will cook more quickly on the top shelf — it is much hotter than the bottom.

Where appropriate use the grill rather than the oven.

Electric kettles vary in the amount of electricity they consume. When you need to replace yours, choose one with the minimum energy consumption.

Check out microwave ovens. They consume about 80⁰/o less electricity than a conventional oven.

If you are replacing your electric oven, consider a fan- assisted model as they are cheaper to run.

Don’t keep the fridge door open any longer than necessary.

Keep fridges and freezers well away from heat sources such as cookers, dishwashers and washing machines.

If possible, site fridges and freezers out of direct sunlight, as your appliance will use more energy trying to keep cool in the sun.

Try and keep your fridge and freezer full; they will use less electricity.

If your freezer isn’t full, fill empty spaces with scrunched- up paper or bubble wrap to stop warm air circulating when it is opened.

Defrost food by putting it in the fridge the night before you want to use it. This will cool the fridge down and reduce its power consumption.

Keep the metal grids (condenser coils) at the back of fridges and freezers clean and dust-free, and not jammed up against the wall; this allows the air to circulate more easily around them, and makes them more efficient.

If you have a fitted kitchen with a built-in fridge or freezer, make sure there is ample ventilation to allow for air circulation around the condenser coils.

Defrost the fridge and freezer regularly. If the ice inside gets more than 5mm thick, the appliances become inefficient.

Consider buying an energy-efficient freezer to replace older appliances. You should recover the cost remarkably quickly.

Check the door seals on your fridge and freezer: shut the door on a note. If you can pull it out easily, or if your seals are damaged, they need replacing.

Wait until you’ve got a full load before using your washing machine — using the ‘half load’ programme does not save you half the energy, water or detergent.

Use a lower temperature wash for clothes which aren’t very dirty: for most washes, 40°C is just as good as 60°C.

Use the economy programme where possible.

If your machine has a cold wash option, try using it for lightly soiled clothing. Most detergents work extremely well at low temperatures.

If possible connect both your hot and cold washing machine hoses to your hot and cold water pipes. This will enable the machine to use readily available hot water rather than having to heat cold water from scratch.

If you live in a hard water area, limescale on your washing machine element will reduce its efficiency. Every couple of months get rid of it by running the machine empty on a wash cycle using 200m1 of white vinegar in the detergent tray. There are also de-scaling tablets available.

Energy-efficient washing machines use about 1/3 less electricity than older machines. The savings will more than cover the price of a new machine.

Air-dry your clothes on clothes racks or lines if possible - tumble dryers are very energy-hungry appliances.

If you have to use a tumble dryer, then spin dry or wring the clothes before putting them in it. Clean out the ‘fluff filter’ every time you use the dryer: this improves the efficiency and your clothes will dry more quickly.

Switch the tumble dryer off when it has finished. It consumes almost 40% of the power whilst on stand-by.

• Use cold water for rinsing.
• If you use a dishwasher, wait until it is full before using it. Don’t be tempted by the ‘half-load’ facility, as it is nowhere near as energy-efficient.
• Use the ‘economy’ or `eco^‘ programme if your dishwasher has one. It will use less electricity and take less time.

• Switch your dishwasher off completely when it has finished; it is still consuming electricity on stand-by.
• If you switch off the machine and open the door when the dishwasher enters its ‘drying phase’, the dishes will dry naturally, saving a considerable amount of energy.

Turn off the chargers for your mobile phone and laptop when not in use.

Turn off TVs, radios, stereos and computers when not in use.

Turn your iron off just before you finish ironing, and use the residual heat for the last few clothes.

Ask the Energy Saving Trust do a free energy check on your home. You can reduce your energy consumption, knock hundreds of pounds off your energy bills, and cut down your CO2 emissions.

Use your electricity meter to see for yourself which appliances use the most electricity: have a look at your meter whilst somebody is switching on kettles, toasters, tumble dryers, electric instant showers etc.

Think about buying a small portable monitor that shows you how much electricity you are using, how much it is costing, and the CO2 you are adding to the atmosphere.

Buy a steam iron: although they use slightly more electricity than dry irons, they are more efficient and take less time.

If you are replacing your computer, consider a laptop — they are more energy-efficient.

By using renewable energy instead of conventional energy sources, you can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide your household produces. This will reduce your contribution to climate change and save you a considerable amount of money once installed, as most of these energy sources will provide endless free energy, and reduce the impact of gas and electricity price rises.

Providing you have already taken some basic steps to reduce your energy consumption, there will probably be grants available to help you pay for the purchase and installation of a renewable energy system. These grants can be quite substantial.

When considering the purchase and installation of a renewable energy system, you need to consider:

The suitability of your home, such as: Do you have a south-facing roof or wall? Is your house exposed to the wind?

Payback (the amount of time it takes for the renewable energy system to pay for itself). This varies considerably according to which system you install.

Initial cost Some systems are dramatically cheaper than others to buy and install.

The following is a brief outline of renewable energy systems.

• Solar power

Energy from the sun can be used both to provide domestic hot water and to produce electricity for your home. Different technologies are used for each.

To produce domestic hot water

Solar heating panels use the sun’s energy to heat domestic hot water. This energy typically reduces your water heating bill by 65%-75%.

Solar heating systems work in conjunction with your conventional domestic hot water system.

Most south-facing roofs, walls or gardens are suitable for the installation of solar heating panels.

To produce electricity

Photovoltaic (PV) cells convert sunlight to electricity. This electricity is fed into the mains grid, thereby reducing your electricity bill. The PV cells can be put on a south-facing roof or wall, provided that they are strong enough to support the additional weight and are not shaded by trees or other buildings.

• Small-scale wind turbines To produce electricity

Wind turbines convert moving wind into electricity. For many houses in the UK, a new breed of micro-turbine that attaches to your chimney or roof is the most convenient and practical.

The electricity produced by micro wind turbines is fed back into the mains electricity grid, thereby reducing your electricity bill. Your house needs to be exposed to the wind to make this system suitable for you.

• Biomass (biofuels)

To heat your house and hot water

Biomass or biofuels are materials such as wood or straw which grow quickly and can be burnt to release heat, for space heating and domestic hot water Biomass is different from all the other renewable energy sources because the fuel generally has to be purchased.

Biomass is a renewable energy source because:

• The materials are quick to grow, absorbing CO2 in the process.
• The CO2 released when it is burned balances that which was absorbed during the growth of the material, effectively making the process carbon-neutral.

Wood (in the form of logs or pellets) is the most commonly used biofuel. It should be burnt in an efficient, controllable manner, either in stand-alone stoves or in boilers.

• Ground source heat pumps To heat your house and hot water

Heat pumps take heat from several metres under the ground (which remains at about 12°C all year round) and use it to heat your house — just like a refrigerator in reverse. They can also be used to warm water before it enters your domestic hot water heater, thereby saving on energy used. If you want to install a heat pump, you will need sufficient space outside to dig either a trench or a borehole.

Although heat pumps are run by electricity, they are very efficient: for every unit of electricity used to run the heat pump, about four units of heat energy are created.

• Small-scale hydro power To produce electricity

If you are fortunate enough to have a fast-moving stream or river running near your house, it might be possible to generate electricity from the moving water. Though not the simplest of renewable energy systems to install, hydro schemes have the capacity to generate substantial amounts of electricity, which can then be sold back to your electricity company.

The potential source of power will need to be assessed initially before any other steps are taken. Costs of hydro power schemes vary hugely according to the size of the project, but hydro schemes can sometimes offer high returns.

If you think your local river has the potential to generate electricity, consider forming a community hydro project. There are people operating successful schemes who are willing to provide advice.

Don’t worry about your pet tripping the infrared sensors in your home. The alarm companies will activate the “pet alley,” which is a few inches of undetected space that can be adjusted for your cat or dog. (It can be designed according to weight, say, less than 30 pounds.)

Lights, Camera, Action

In addition to sensor lights, if you suspect burglar activity around your property or if you have a definite security concern, install surveillance cameras around the perimeter. (Just ask Vali what an important move that is.) As I have mentioned previously, sensor lights can be found at most any hardware store, are easy to install, and are cost effective. Surveillance cameras are substantially more expensive. A complete observation system is available online at Radio Shack and consists of a high-resolution 12-inch monitor, one camera, and the capability of hooking up with four additional cameras. This system runs about $600, and additional cameras run about $100 more. If cameras are not in your budget, you might want to think about getting some fake cameras and mounting them in plain view around your property. The thieves don’t know if they’re real or not, and most are not willing to find out.

Do It Yourself

If you are in a temporary residence, or your budget doesn’t allow for a service, there are systems that you can install yourself. A wireless security system runs about $150 to $200 and usually includes a controller with auto-dialer, a motion detector, two door/window sensors, a lamp module, and a handheld keychain remote. It also has the capacity for additional sensors or motion detectors if you need them.

There is another easy do-it-yourself home safety measure.

Cover all your windows with a laminate film that holds the glass together if it is broken. You can buy it at hardware or window stores. They are sold in rolls for about $6 per square foot. Remember, any deterrent is a good deterrent.

Apartment Solutions

There is a wireless motion sensor “Alarm with a Key Chain” remote that is great for apartments or dormitories because no wiring is needed, and it only runs about $40.

This triggers a 108-decibel alarm if motion is detected. It has a wireless remote that can arm and disarm, and has a panic button to instantly sound the alarm.

Beware of Bark

Never underestimate the intimidating power of a dog. A nice big K-9 cruising around your property can be one of the best intruder deterrents. Robbers and stalkers don’t like to deal with animals, especially barking ones who draw attention to lurking trespassers, or worse—who bite when protecting their property. If you can’t get a dog, get a tape recording of a really loud, scary bark that can be played if an unwanted solicitor comes to your door.

May I Check Your References?

Take the time to get estimates and references from local alarm companies. In addition to the products they offer, make sure to ask about their service record. Make sure these companies are bonded and have insurance. It is important that if something goes wrong with your system, the company will stand behind its products.

All of these tips are solutions to make your home more burglar-proof so that you feel at ease when you are home alone. Strategically securing your house gives you peace of mind. Building a perimeter of safety around your property enables you to relax and enjoy your next evening of solitude.