If you've just watched our video '
Cheaper energy at your fingertips' then you'll know how much you could save by moving to an online energy tariff.
Recently, there's been a spate of price cuts, but only for online deals - there's no price war among standard tariffs.
That means that if you're on your provider's standard rate, you could save literally hundreds of pounds by moving to their leading online deal.
Read our article 'Three energy price cuts come at once' for more advice on moving to a market-leading rate.
Of course, finding the cheapest tariff is only one way to reduce your bills. Cutting back on the energy you use helps the planet as well, so it's a really satisfying way of lowering your household's bills.
We've put together a list of hints and tips on reducing the energy you use. Hope they help.
Turn down the heating
We don't want to encourage you to sit in the cold, but turning the temperature down even a small amount can make a big difference.
According to the Energy Saving Trust, moving your thermostat down just one degree can save a household as much as £55 a year.
Shower, don't bath
The joke might suggest saving water by bathing with a friend, but it really is simpler than that. Taking a shower instead of running a bath saves water, so you heat less and use less energy.
Bring out the energy savers
You can only buy energy saving lightbulbs these days and if you still have any old-style bulbs in your house, you should swap them. Using energy savers in every room could save as much as £50 a year.
Draw the curtains
As the nights become chillier, we all crank the heating up. Drawing the curtains helps insulate the house because the heat doesn't escape through the windows.
It's also much cosier, so try it!
Buy a new boiler
If your boiler is more olde worlde than efficient, it may be worth your while investing in a newer model.
Boilers aged 15 years or more are almost certainly as inefficient as they can be, and replacing them with new, A-rated condensing boilers saves around £235 a year.
Draft excluders
Gaps under doors, rattling letter boxes, cat flaps - all these things are the enemy of efficiency. Putting draft excluders in front of doors and maybe even hang a curtain on the back of your front door if it lets the heat out.
DIY shops will also sell insulation tape that you can put round cat flaps and letter boxes to keep the heat in and the energy bills down.
Spurn standby
Encourage your household to turn appliances off once they're done - using standby burns unnecessary energy.
It's been estimated that getting out of the habit of leaving gadgets switched on can save households around £37 a year.
Resist the tumble dryer
Hanging clothes out to dry instead of slinging them in the tumble dryer has been shown to slice as much as £45 off the average bill. Not bad.
Insulate your loft
The Energy Saving Trust reckons the average household could save £205 a year by insulating their loft. It'll cost around £250 to do, but after the first year the savings will continue to add up
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