Reducing our carbon footprint. Becoming carbon neutral. Saving energy. These are sayings that we will all have heard more and more over the last decade. It's not however just something that we hear about, they are now objectives that many of us aim for when thinking about our home.

There are of course many areas that you can review in your own home to find where you can cut down on the energy used and of course also the money you spend:

Turn down your heating. The first thing is to lower your thermostat; we generally have them set to be warmer than we really need, so try dropping a couple of degrees. Then find ways to improve your efficiency - shut doors within your house, close windows, seal draughts. It's worth mentioning here as well that up to 25% of heat loss can be through your roof if your insulation is poor.

Turn off appliances. If you're not using it, turn it off. Standby still uses electricity and therefore money from your pocket. Don't leave things on if they're not in use. This applies to lights as well. If you're not in the room, the light doesn't need to be on. During the day open your curtains!

Think economically. How many cups of tea are you making? Does the kettle need to be full? Does your washing machine adjust water/efficiency based on the load? If not, wait until it is full! Wash your dishes once in a while, you don't always need a dishwasher! Have a shower instead of a bath - then have a 5 minute shower instead of a 10 minute one!

Use eco-friendly products. From light bulbs, renewable energy providers to washing up liquid and bags for life. There are so many options to you to make a difference.

However, as mentioned earlier did you know that 25% of all heat loss in your home is through your roof? This means that your heating system has to work harder to keep your house warm and this of course hits you in the pocket and the environment in the jugular.

Home Insulation is now being considered one of the most effective ways of reducing CO2 emissions from the home. Great improvements have been made in this field from the insulation we all think of (such as glasswool) to types of insulation board.

If you choose to buy home insulation that offers a premium thermal performance, then you need to keep an eye out for the Lambda value. The lower the value the better - this has a twofold benefit, you need less insulation by buying the more efficient type and you will find that you also save space due to these being thinner solutions. You can also find products now that offer zero-carbon solutions, so don't miss out on this key way of making your house greener.