Guides

Loft insulation: the best-value upgrade

Pound for pound the best home energy upgrade there is. How deep to go, how to lay it, and what it saves.

Draught-proofing: the cheap heat you are losing

Cheap, quick, and it makes a cold house feel warmer at once. How to find every gap and seal it properly.

Cavity wall insulation: is it right for your house?

If your house has cavity walls and they are empty, filling them is one of the larger savings going.

Insulating a solid-wall house

No cavity to fill? Solid walls lose the most heat of all, and there are two ways to tackle them.

Insulating under the floor

Cold feet and draughts from below? The floor is the forgotten surface, and often an easy fix.

Is double glazing worth the money?

The honest answer on whether new windows pay back, and what to do if they do not.

Secondary glazing: warmth without new windows

A cheap inner pane that gets you most of the benefit of double glazing without ripping anything out.

Curtains and blinds: cheap insulation you already own

Heavy curtains are window insulation you can use tonight. The small habits that make them work.

Radiator reflector panels: do they work?

A few quid of foil behind the radiator, or pointless gadget? Where it genuinely helps.

Thermostat settings that save money

The right temperature, smart timing, and the truth about 'leaving it on low all day'.

Are smart thermostats worth it?

Clever kit, but the saving comes from behaviour you could change for free. When it is worth buying.

Radiator valves and zoning: heat only where you live

Stop heating empty rooms to the same temperature as the lounge. The cheapest way to zone a house.

How to bleed a radiator (and why it saves money)

Cold at the top, warm at the bottom? Trapped air is making your boiler work harder. Free to fix.

Turn down your boiler flow temperature

A free setting on most gas combis that can cut gas use noticeably, and almost nobody touches it. Here is exactly how.

How a condensing boiler works, and how to help it

Understand what 'condensing' actually means and you understand how to get the most from your gas.

Heat pumps explained without the jargon

The technology behind heat pumps, in plain terms, and the kind of house that gets the best from one.

Cutting the cost of hot water

After heating the rooms, heating water is often the next biggest cost. Practical ways to trim it.

Cylinder jackets and pipe lagging: the cheapest hot-water saving

A few pounds of foam keeps your stored hot water hot for longer. One of the fastest paybacks anywhere.

The immersion heater: handy but pricey

Heating water with electricity costs far more than with gas. When to use the immersion, and how to tame it.

Low-flow showerheads: save water and the energy to heat it

Use less hot water in the shower and you cut the bill to heat it. A cheap swap with a quick payback.

Switching to LED lighting

Close to free money if you still have halogens. What LEDs save and how to choose them.

Standby power: the full story

The real numbers on standby waste, the worst culprits, and why unplugging your phone charger is pointless.

The tumble dryer: your priciest habit

One of the most expensive things you can plug in. What a load really costs, and the cheaper ways to dry.

Getting your fridge and freezer to run cheaper

They never switch off, so small tweaks add up all year. Temperatures, seals, frost and placement.

Washing clothes at 30 degrees

Most of a wash's energy goes on heating the water. Drop the temperature and clean clothes still come out clean.

What a washing machine really costs to run

The cost is almost all in heating the water. Where it goes, what a wash costs, and how to spend less.

Running a dishwasher cheaply (and beating the sink)

Often cheaper than washing up by hand, if you run it right. Eco mode, full loads, and skipping the pre-rinse.

Boiling the kettle for less

A heavy hitter you use many times a day. The one habit that cuts its cost without any new gadget.

What an electric shower costs to run

One of the highest-wattage things in the house, used daily. What it really costs, and how to trim it.

Air fryer running cost: the hype and the reality

Cheaper than the oven for small portions, but not magic. When the air fryer genuinely saves, and when it does not.

Oven, microwave or air fryer: which is cheapest to cook in?

The same meal can cost very different amounts depending on what you cook it in. A practical comparison.

The slow cooker: cheap cooking that runs all day

Runs for eight hours yet barely sips power. Why the slow cooker is one of the cheapest ways to cook a meal.

Induction versus gas hob: running cost and efficiency

Induction wastes the least heat of any hob, but electricity costs more per unit. How the sums shake out.

Understanding your energy bill

kWh, unit rate, standing charge, estimated readings: how to actually read the bill and find the cost.

How to compare and switch energy suppliers

What to look at beyond the headline price, fixed vs variable, and how switching actually works.

Hypermiling: squeezing miles from a tank

The techniques that genuinely stretch a tank, the ones that are myths, and how to do it safely.