Nobody likes wasting money. Unfortunately, it is surprisingly easy to do exactly that in your own home without even realising it.

We’re all guilty of it. Heating an empty room, leaving lights on, running hot water longer than necessary or having a draught coming through a door and simply putting up with it.

None of these things is going to bankrupt you on its own. But add them together over a year and the wasted energy starts to look rather different.

The good news is that making your home more energy efficient doesn’t necessarily mean spending thousands of pounds. There are plenty of simple things you can do first.

1. Hunt down the draughts

If your house feels cold even when the heating is on, don’t immediately assume you need a new heating system.

Find the draught first.

Check external doors, windows and any obvious gaps around the property. You can often feel a draught before you can actually see where it’s coming from.

A suitable draught excluder or replacement seal can make a noticeable difference for very little money.

2. Stop heating rooms nobody is using

This sounds obvious, but it’s easy to fall into the habit of heating the entire house regardless of who’s actually in it.

If you’ve got spare bedrooms or rooms that are rarely used, think about whether they need to be heated to exactly the same level as your main living spaces.

Modern heating controls can make this much easier. The aim isn’t to have half the house freezing. It’s to stop paying to heat rooms that don’t need to be warm all day.

3. Get your heating system checked

Your heating system is one of the biggest things worth paying attention to.

A system that’s properly maintained should be able to do its job effectively, whereas faults or poor maintenance can affect performance.

If you haven’t had your heating system checked for some time, it is worth looking into.

I’ve also written about heating and air systems and their role in everyday life, which is worth a read if you’re looking at your home’s heating more generally.

4. Don’t automatically turn the thermostat up

When you’re cold, the natural reaction is to turn the thermostat up.

Before doing that, have a look at why you’re cold.

Is there a draught? Are the curtains open? Is furniture blocking the radiator? Could the room simply need better insulation?

Sometimes fixing the reason a room feels cold is more useful than turning up the heating.

5. Make better use of your curtains

Curtains are a surprisingly useful bit of kit.

When it gets dark, closing them can help reduce the cold feeling around windows. During sunny winter days, opening them can let natural sunlight into the room.

It’s free. You don’t need an app, a smart meter or a £5,000 renovation. Just open and close the curtains at sensible times.

6. Look at your loft insulation

If you’re losing a lot of heat through the roof, your heating system is essentially working harder to compensate.

Loft insulation can be an important part of improving the energy performance of a home. If your insulation is old, damaged or appears inadequate, investigate what improvements might be appropriate.

Don’t simply start piling insulation everywhere without checking what’s already there. Ventilation, wiring, pipes and access all need to be considered.

7. Don’t ignore obvious window problems

I’m not suggesting everyone needs to replace their windows. That can be a significant expense.

Instead, look at the condition of the windows you already have.

Are the seals damaged? Are there gaps? Do you have obvious draughts? Can anything be repaired?

Sometimes basic maintenance can improve comfort without replacing perfectly serviceable windows.

8. Keep radiators clear

Have a look at the furniture around your radiators.

A large sofa pushed directly against one isn’t ideal if it’s preventing warm air from circulating around the room. Curtains can also get in the way.

You don’t need to completely redesign your living room, but giving radiators a bit more space can help heat move around the room.

9. Switch to LED bulbs

If you’re still using older types of bulbs, switching to LED is an easy upgrade.

You don’t have to go around the house replacing every bulb immediately. As bulbs need replacing, choose suitable LEDs.

Also get into the habit of switching lights off when you leave a room.

It sounds ridiculously simple. That’s because it is.

10. Be sensible with hot water

Hot water uses energy.

So if you leave the hot tap running while you’re doing something else, you’re paying to heat water that you aren’t actually using.

Fix dripping taps. Don’t leave hot water running unnecessarily. And consider whether everyone in the house really needs a 25-minute shower.

I’m not suggesting we all need to stand there timing ourselves with a stopwatch. Just be sensible.

11. Look after your water heater

Your water heater has a fairly important job, so don’t forget about it.

Regular maintenance can help identify problems before they become bigger ones.

I’ve covered how often you should service your water heater, including some of the factors that can affect servicing requirements.

If the system is making strange noises, producing inconsistent hot water or behaving differently from normal, don’t simply turn it up and hope for the best.

Find out what’s wrong.

12. Think about how you use the washing machine

Not every load of washing needs to run at a high temperature.

Modern detergents and washing machines offer plenty of lower-temperature options for everyday laundry. Check the clothing labels and use the programme that actually suits the load.

And don’t run a machine with two shirts in it just because you’re desperate to wear one of them tomorrow.

Wait for a proper load where you can.

13. Don’t make the tumble dryer your default

Tumble dryers are brilliant. On a wet Tuesday in January, they’re even better.

But if you’ve got the opportunity to dry clothes outside, it makes sense to do so. During warmer months, make use of the washing line.

It costs nothing to use and does a perfectly good job.

During winter, indoor drying needs to be handled sensibly because drying clothes releases moisture into the air.

14. Think about appliances when they need replacing

I’m not a fan of throwing away a perfectly good appliance simply because a newer one is slightly more efficient.

That’s not necessarily saving money.

But when your fridge, washing machine, dishwasher or other appliance eventually reaches the end of its useful life, efficiency should be part of the replacement decision.

Look at how much you actually use the appliance and choose something appropriate for your household.

15. Start looking for wasted energy

This is probably the biggest change you can make.

Walk around your house and start looking at it differently.

Where is heat escaping? What is running when nobody needs it? Which lights are always on? Are you heating rooms that aren’t being used?

Are there draughts you’ve simply become used to?

Once you start looking for wasted energy, you’ll probably find quite a lot of it.

Don’t try to do everything at once

This is where I think people sometimes go wrong with energy efficiency.

You read an article about making your house more efficient and suddenly you’re looking at solar panels, new windows, insulation, heat pumps and a completely new heating system.

All of those things can have their place. But start with the basics.

Fix the draught. Change the bulbs. Adjust the heating schedule. Close the curtains. Stop wasting hot water. Move the sofa away from the radiator.

Then start thinking about bigger improvements.

Energy efficiency shouldn’t mean being uncomfortable

There’s a difference between using less energy and simply sitting in a freezing house.

The point isn’t to make your home uncomfortable. It’s to make the energy you’re already paying for work harder.

If you’re heating the house, you want that heat staying where you need it. If you’re paying to heat water, you want to actually use that hot water.

If you’re running a light, you want it lighting a room someone is actually using.

It’s really just common sense.

The bottom line

You don’t need to turn your house upside down to start using less energy.

In fact, I’d start with the boring jobs. Find the draughts, look after the heating, stop wasting hot water, switch off lights and use the curtains properly.

Once those things become habits, then you can start looking at the bigger investments.

And that’s probably the best approach to home energy efficiency generally. You don’t have to fix everything in one weekend.

Just make your home a little more efficient than it was yesterday.