Our greatest energy use is in heating. Putting on an extra sweater and turning the heating thermostat down is the most effective of the energy savers. Each degree Centigrade we turn it down represents about a 10% saving.

Some people - the very young and the old - can't safely do that, but there is help specially for them. If anyone in the household is 5 or under, 60 or over, or on benefits, then you are entitled to free loft insulation up to a thickness of about 11 inches, and should contact Warm Zone or the Energy Saving Trust to arrange it. Loft insulation is probably the most cost effective insulation step you can take.

However you need to get at least ÂŞ of your attic floor covered to qualify. If you don't qualify, for instance if you want to keep storage space, you can still do part yourself quite cheaply as the government currently subsidises half the cost of loft insulation material.

I found out a year ago that open fires burn at about 15% efficiency, whilst modern wood burning stoves can be well over 70% efficient. That is incredible. It means you only need about 1/5th of the fuel for the same heat. Now I try to keep the doors of my wood burning stove firmly shut, and will explore getting a more efficient stove.

..... and neither will the chilly wind.

The Chimney balloon is such a simple idea; it goes up the Chimney breast and keeps the cold air out and the warm air in.

I purchased a balloon during Energy Saving Week from the Good Energy Shop. We needed a medium sized balloon. Including P&P the price came to around £25.

The balloon arrived quickly and was flat enough to be posted through the letter box (no waiting in - hooray).

AN Englishman's home is said to be his castle.

But take a look at most castles, with their cracks, leaning walls, damp, bats and beasties, and even the generous of lenders wouldn't offer even the smallest of mortgages.

There have been over 300 complaints about the Act on CO2 advert, which shows a child being told a bedtime story about extreme global warming and features a cartoon dog drowning.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change launched the £6m campaign, in which the government states for the first time that scientific evidence has confirmed that climate change is man-made, earlier this month.

I showed it to my two children (ages 10 and 8). They couldn't see what the fuss was about, although I can understand that it may worry younger children.

Watch the advert below and you can decide.

I was not a huge fan of the car scrappage scheme, only for the reason that I objected to it being spun as a green scheme when in fact it was a way of propping up the car industry.

If that's what the Government want to do then fine, but at least have the decency to be honest about it.

Two areas where I think that the scrappage scheme would be far better directed at (if the environment is truly paramount) are retro-fitting housing stock with energy efficient boilers and windows.