Over half of homeowners are using less energy compared to last year.

A survey by the Energy Saving Trust has revealed that 55% of homeowners are using less energy compared to a year ago.

42% of homeowners were also willing to pay more to retrofit energy saving measures to make their homes more energy efficient.

The Trust claims that households could save a collective £2 billion a year just by installing loft and cavity wall insulation and replacing light bulbs with energy saving bulbs. Add to these measures the simple task of turning household appliances like TV's, stereos and washing machines off standby would also cut nearly ten million tonnes of CO2.

Although the take-up of actual renewable energy generation has been slow to get going - something market analysts have blamed on the recent uncertainty over the future of renewable funding schemes like the FiT's and Renewable Heat Incentives - now their future has been confirmed, the figures could improve dramatically as more and more homes install renewable electric and heat generation devices like solar panels to their homes.

The report comes on the back of an energy survey by uSwitch which showed that present energy bills are proving difficult to manage for 20% of all households. As many as 61% when asked were concerned about the size of their energy bills this winter, whilst 72% said their energy cost awareness had improved since last winters cold spell.

Turning down room thermostats, water tank heat settings and adjusting individual radiators, even by a few degrees, can lower your energy usage and fuel bills.

photo credit: gilliu00_