Look after your boiler – Central heating boilers should be checked and serviced at least once a year by a Gas Safe Registered engineer to ensure they remain safe and efficient.

Reduce draughts – Check the weather-stripping on your windows and seal your doors to keep heat from escaping. At night, close your curtains to help insulate your windows against heat loss.

Open your curtains during daylight hours – to let the sun’s natural warmth in.

Bleed radiators – If you notice that a radiator is warm at the bottom but cool at the top, this could mean that there is air in the system, which prevents the warm circulating water from reaching the top of the radiator.

Top up your loft insulation – Heat rises, and in an uninsulated home a quarter of the heat is lost through the roof. The latest government guidelines recommend 270mm (11”) for insulation thickness which means if you live in a property that’s older than 10 years of age; it’s probably ready for a top up.

Turn down the thermostat – Turning down your room thermostat by one degree could save you around £65 a year!

Radiators are not washing lines – hanging clothes on radiators means that you’re stopping the heat from getting to the rest of the room.

Do not heat empty rooms – Only switch radiators on in rooms that you use. Make sure you shut the doors, though, to keep the rest of the house warm.

Compare suppliers – Compare the various offers from energy companies to identify a cheaper tariff.