Ask Tommy Walsh: cheap ways to bring down fuel bills

With our bills going only one way this year, it’s hardly surprising that this is one of the questions I’m most frequently asked at the moment. The answer, as always, is to reduce energy usage. It’s pretty shocking that the average house in Britain leaks heat three times faster than our neighbours’ houses in Europe.

You can lose 25% of your heat through an uninsulated roof, according to the Energy Saving Trust, so it’s a good moment to improve the insulation in your loft. It deteriorates over time, so if it was last done 30 or 40 years ago, it’s time for another go. Lay it at right angles to the previous layer. If there is no insulation at all, put the first layer between the ceiling joists, and add two more layers, each at right angles; the improvement will be substantial. However, this will make the loft space very cold, so insulate all pipes and tanks to protect against burst pipes.

Another third of your heat loss is from walls. If your house is built with cavity walls, you can get a specialist company to drill through the joint to pump in little balls of insulation. Again, the improvement will be substantial, and it’s very cost-effective – a three-bedroom semi-detached house can cost as little as £350-£450, which can pay for itself in the first year or two – less if fuel bills continue to rise so steeply.

If you follow these recommendations, I reckon you could see your energy usage halved: the heat will stay within your house for much longer, reducing your bills.

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Job for May

Wash garden furniture with an exterior disinfectant like Jeyes Fluid or similar because foxes may have urinated on it or worse. I know they’ve been on my stone table as they’ve left paw prints.

Clean It, Fix It airs on BBC 1

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