How to slash your fuel bills - and shrink your carbon footprint

Lisa Bachelor
The Observer,
Sunday August 3 2008

Steven Jones and his wife Claire Butcher have been on something of an energy-saving mission in their home over the past two years.
The couple live in their-two bedroom terrace in Southampton with their two-year old son George.
'It started when George was born and we needed an office space because he was in the second bedroom,' says Steven. 'So we built our own own office on the back of our property from wood and insulated it with sheep's wool.'
This led to a series of improvements inside the couple's home starting with insulating the loft with Thermafleece, ditching their old washing machine for a new energy efficient one and putting up secondary double glazing. The more simple measures they have carried out include fitting draught excluders, wrapping their hot water tank in a thermal jacket and switching all their light bulbs to low energy versions.
An recent energy assessment of their house showed a reduction in energy use from twice what it should have been for the size of their property two years ago to half the average now.
'The changes have been about two things, the environment and the cost,' says Steven, who estimates he has spent less than £2,000 on the main changes to the home, thanks to a combination of energy efficiency grants and careful shopping around.
'We noticed a massive improvement in our energy usage after we did the cavity walls and insulation,' he says. 'Before we had been paying our gas bills based on estimates from our energy company but which more or less tallied with our meter readings. After our improvements those meter readings dropped dramatically.'
Ten home improvements that will cut your bills
· If your home was built between the 1920s and 1980s then you could fit cavity wall insulation and save up to £120 on heating bills.
· If your boiler is over 15 years old, replace it with a high-efficiency condensing boiler to cut bills by a third.
· Check your freezer: don't leave the door open for long, defrost regularly and check the doors seals are working.
· Even better, buy a new one and cut electric bills by £34 a year.
· Insulate your hot water tank with a jacket and save £30 a year.
· Stop heat escaping under skirting boards with beading or mastic sealant, saving you £20 a year.
· Double glaze and save £110.
· Insulate your loft to 270mm and lop up to £155 off your annual bill.
· Close curtains at dusk and stop heat escaping through the windows.
· Take a free home energy check at energysavingtrust.org.uk.
Source: Energy Saving Trust