Now that the earth's once seemingly limitless supply of fossil fuelssuch as natural gas and crude oil is becoming increasingly limited, ithas become imperative that everybody takes steps to reduce their energyuse. However, by taking a few simple steps, we can all help to preservewhat remains of our precious oil and gas supplies ? and the environment? and save ourselves a bit of money into the bargain:

Don't useappliances which make inefficient use of the energy that they require.You might think that you're saving money by avoiding having to shellout for an expensive new boiler or fridge, but the truth is that youcan often save money by upgrading to more modern, energy efficientappliances.

If you cannot afford to replace inefficient olderappliances, find out if there is any way to make them more energyefficient, such as buying a special adapter or having them converted insome way.

If you are not using an appliance, turn it off. Atelevision or computer set to standby still uses around 60% of thepower it would require during normal operation, which, apart fromanything else, is costing you a lot of money which would be betterspent elsewhere. Set your computer to enter ?sleep? mode rather than goto a screen saver when you leave it to idle for a few minutes. If it isavailable in your area, sign up to an energy supplier which produceselectricity from green sources.

Although there is no way ofensuring that all of the energy you use comes from renewable sources,this at least encourages investment in renewables. Avoid wasting energythrough your water supply by installing low flow shower heads andinsulating your pipes and the area around your boiler.

Don?tturn on your washing machine or dishwasher unless you have a full load,as the same amount of energy is used regardless of the contents of themachine.

A small reduction in your household temperature canmean a big reduction in your household bills. Nobody will notice if youturn down your thermostat by one degree, but you will certainly noticea reduction of around ten percent of your energy bill!

Upgradeyour insulation. In particular, much of the heat produced in the homeis lost to the atmosphere through the roof, so by insulating your loftyou can keep a lot of the heat that you produce from being wasted.

Keepyour home maintained. A roof with holes in it could be costing youhundreds of pounds every year in lost heat energy. Fixing drafts inyour windows and doors can also save a lot of heat from getting out.

Installingmodern boiler controls can not only hugely improve the flexibility ofyour heating system, but it can also save you a pile of money by makingmore efficient use of the heat produced by your boiler.

Chose British Gas for your . Visit our site and see why our engineers are the nations favourites.