I’ve talked all about energy efficient new houses, but the reality is most of us are living in established homes. Does it mean there is nothing we can do about our energy bills?

Of course not. Here is a list of 8 things that are easy enough to do, affordable enough to implement and worth doing to pay less for cooling, heating and water. Some of these are really straight forward and I am probably not introducing new concepts - but never mind that, they still work if you give them a try.

To save water

1. Plant native plants in your garden. They are drought-tolerant and won’t consume as much water as non-native ones.

2. Replace the shower heads to water saving ones. You won’t notice the difference in the shower - but you sure will in the bill.

3. If it leaks, fix it. All the taps, inside and outside your house, all the torn drippers, everything. Do not forget to check for leaking toilets..

To save energy

4. Replace your regular light globes with energy-saving ones. Yes, they cost more, but they last longer and consume much less power so it’s worth it.

5. Replace your lighting fittings with the ones that have a ceiling fan. It will help you save on energy in the summer as well as in the winter.

During the hot months circulating air will make the room feel cooler (as much as 8 degrees cooler!), which consequently can reduce your air conditioning bills by up to 40%.

During the cold months you can run the ceiling fan in a reverse order, to push the hot air from near the ceiling (where it normally gets by laws of physics) down towards the floor. This can reduce your heating bills by 10%.

6. Use rebates available to you to insulate your house for free. It will make it cooler in the summer, warmer in the winter and reduce your bills.

7. If your house has external blinds (most houses do), close them in hot days. Less sun will gets in, the temperature will be lower when you come home and you won’t have to run the aircon as much.

8. Finally, the most obvious (yet most commonly forgotten) tip: turn the lights off when you leave the room. Duh, you say… but if I had a coin for every time my partner had forgotten the light on, for the whole day, with nobody in the house, I would be filthy rich by now

Got any tips of your own to cut the cost of home bills?

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