Q As fuel prices keep rising, is there anything I can be doing every day to help reduce my energy use and lower my fuel bills?

Nov 6 2007 by Karen Wilson, The Journal

A There are a few simple things we can all do every day to help save energy and make a difference to our fuel bills.

Turn down the dial on your washing machine from 60 to 30 degrees. Modern washing powders and detergents work just as effectively at lower temperatures so unless you have very dirty washing, bear this in mind.

Clean the cobwebs off the washing line and give the tumble-dryer a rest. Not only will you save energy, but weather permitting, your clothes could be dry in no time.

Turn appliances off properly and make sure they are not left on standby to save around £37 a year. This includes unplugging your mobile phone charger once you have used it, as chargers left plugged in waste over £60m throughout the UK every year.

Make sure you don’t fill the kettle to the top and only boil as much water as you need. If everyone in the UK boiled just enough water for their needs, we could save enough electricity to run over half the street lighting in the country.

However if you really want to see a difference in your energy bills, make sure you have a good level of loft insulation. 270mm (10ins) of loft insulation can save around a third off your heating costs and save 1.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide being emitted into the atmosphere.

Q There has been a lot of talk recently about saving energy. If I could do just one simple thing to save energy in my home, what would it be?

A There are many measures you can take to help save energy, but one of the easiest is to switch your light bulbs to energy saving ones. They last up to 12 times longer, and depending on the bulb, you can save up to £9 on your annual electricity bill or £100 over its lifetime. If every UK household installed just one bulb we'd save over £66m per year. Easier still, once you’ve installed the energy saving versions, just make sure you turn the lights off when you leave the room.

Q I’m thinking of buying a new dishwasher, and was just wondering if there are versions on the market that were less harmful to the environment?

A When you’re buying new electrical appliances, make sure you look out for the energy saving recommended logo. The distinctive blue logo appears on a wide range of energy using products. The logo indicates that the appliance being bought is one of the most efficient in its category and therefore also cheaper to run.

If you’re thinking of having a kitchen revamp, replacing your old, energy inefficient fridge-freezer with a new energy saving recommended one could save you up to £45 every year.

If everyone in the UK upgraded their old appliances to energy saving recommended products, the carbon dioxide saved each year would be enough to fill almost 30m double-decker buses, and would mean a collective saving of £1.2bn worth of energy.

Go to www.est.org.uk/recommended to see which appliances have the ESR logo.

For more information on saving energy in your home contact your local Energy Saving Trust Advice Centre on (0800) 512012 where you can get free, impartial advice on how to make your home more energy efficient and information about the grants available in your area. www.est.org.uk.

Q I have heard about cavity wall insulation, but I am unsure if I have cavity walls in my house. Can you tell me a bit more about it, and whether it is worth investigating further?

A Cavity wall insulation is one of the most cost effective ways of reducing heat loss in your home, so with the predicted cold spells coming up, now is the right time to be investigating.

To find out whether you have cavity walls, firstly check the age of your property – houses were still being built with cavity walls until the 1980s, but your home is most likely to have cavity walls if it was built between 1930 and the mid 1960s.

Another good way of checking is to measure the thickness of the wall by any entrance door or window. If the thickness is at least 26.5 cm (10.5 inches), it means you probably have cavity walls that could be filled.

If you do have cavity walls, insulating them would be a very wise investment, saving you up to a third off your energy bills. The procedure is simple, quick and clean as small holes are drilled into the outside of the wall by trained installers.

The material –mineral wool or polystyrene beads – is then injected through the holes, filing the cavity. This process is usually completed within three hours with no mess or damage to your property.

Finally, don’t be afraid that cavity wall insulation is expensive. The initial cost is around £350, but with an average saving up to £160 a year, it will pay for itself in just over two years, and then you will continue to save year after year. There could also be grants available to help you with the cost, so get in touch with your local Energy Efficiency Advice Centre to find out more, and for details of local installers.

For more information contact your local Energy Efficiency Advice Centre on 0800 512012.