Case study: 'It's much better to save money to pay for something fun'

"I'VE used an energy monitor to see how much different appliances are using. I was sent it free by my energy company as I had signed up to a green tariff. You only need to use it for a few weeks because after that time, you know what you can cut back on.

"I was quite scared by the kettle. It used an awful lot of energy, so I now make sure I only boil as little water as I need. My electric oven was also quite worrying. I like to bake, so I now try to make sure that I am cooking other things at the same time.

"I believe it is important to make sure that the heat I do use, when I am at home, is kept inside my house. I have home-made reflective panels behind my radiators, secondary glazing on my windows and thick-lined curtains. I also try to wear lots of jumpers to keep warm, rather than turning the heating up, but I'm not sure if that counts!

"I always try to make sure I only run my washing machine when it is a full load, but with two small children, that's not too much of a problem.

"I am very aware of the environment, so it is partially for that reason that I take all of these measures, but it is nice to save some money too.

"My children are very aware of energy saving, especially Grace. She goes around making sure lights are turned off if we're going out.

"I try to save food by incorporating what we have in the fridge into other dishes using up leftovers - it has become a bit of a treat for the children, to have a meal with lots of little things, so we make it into a real event.

"I've never worked it out exactly, but I must save at least 100 a year - probably more.

"It's much better to have that money to spend on something more fun rather than paying out in energy costs."

• CHARLOTTE BICKMORE, 35, an energy worker at Pedal, lives in a semi-detached house in Portobello with her two young children, Grace, seven, and Oscar, five.