This week’s simple swap can save you up to £295 annually on your energy bill and drastically reduce your carbon footprint.

You can get these enormous savings by drought proofing and double glazing your windows. Even if you are renting this is noteworthy, as a tenant you can ask your landlord to upgrade your windows, since landlords must ensure that any rented property has an energy rating of ‘E’ or more. If you are renting a place that has a lower rating then, by law, the landlord must do the work to make the house more energy-efficient.

One way of making your home more energy effect is by draught-proofing (blocking up and sealing gaps that let warm air out of the home) this is one of the cheapest and most effective actions you can take to prevent heat escaping.

This will in turn reduce your energy bill; as you will no longer be heating up the outside as well as your home. These draughty gaps can be present in many different areas of the home, from cracks in skirting boards to gaps around windows, doors, chimneys and floors.

Filling and sealing gaps with weather stripping tape or flexible sealant will block and prevent your hard earned cash from flying out the widow. Also, by placing a “Fabric Door Sausage” by the door, this will hinder the rush of frosty air entering your home.

Additionally, if you have a letter box in your front door, then it is worth considering a letterbox internal brush, or cover, it to avoid waves of cold air entering you home.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, up to 90% of a wood burning open fireplace’s heat can be lost up the chimney. So, if you have a chimney, then perhaps consider a chimney cap; it sits at the top of your chimney, right above the chimney crown and it will significantly reduce your energy bill.

Another way to become more energy effect is by upgrading to double glazed windows as this could save you an eye watering £235 a year according to the Energy Saving Trust.  It will also have the added benefit of reducing sound pollution from the outside. According to FENSE, double glazed windows are also more secure than single glazed windows because they are twice as tough. With an additional pane of glass, it is one more line of defence between your home and any unwanted intruders.

Even, if you’re renting, as a tenant, you have the right to have double glazed windows as landlord’s rented properties now have to replace single glazing with double-glazing before renting a property, to meet the standards of the new Minimum Energy Standards (MEES) in England and Wales.

Your saving summary; by drought-proofing and double glazing your windows, you may save you up to £295 a year and reduce excessive energy and reduce your carbon footprint. Save money, save the planet.