With David Cameron's wind turbine plans and Gordon Browns solar panels idea it seems the idea of eco living has started to attract serious political cache. Not surprising really; given the ecological doom we seem to be heading towards politicians would do well to position themselves on the 'striving to save the world' side of the fence.

Of course there will always be those who dispute the level of damage we're reportedly doing to the planet (until we're living in some sort of post apocalyptic dystopia at least) but if you need a slightly more pragmatic reason for changing your ways and switching to a more energy efficient lifestyle then just think of the money you could save.

I'm not necessarily advocating a full on eco-home; before you start installing that wind turbine there are a few more straightforward measures you can take to cut down on your energy consumption and slice a considerable chunk off your bills.

Firstly, take a look at your boiler, if it's older than fifteen years it could be time to consider a replacement. Aging boilers are not only likely to be considerably less efficient they can also be dangerous. Obviously a sensible first step would be to get in a qualified gas engineer (in fact you'd be well advised to get it checked on an annual basis) to assess the state of your boiler.

Whilst an older boiler might still be functional it's unlikely to be performing particularly well, by upgrading to a high efficiency model you could save as much as £240 a year. Make sure however that you're getting a decent replacement - British Gas "A" rated new boilers should offer over 90% efficiency compared to around 65% from older models, a properly qualified CORGI engineer should be able to provide you with decent boiler installation. There are three main types of boiler - the conventional boiler, the condensing boiler and the combi boiler- the type that's right for you will depend on your home. Combi boilers are great for smaller houses or flats, because they heat water as you use it rather than store it they are a compact, space saving option with no connecting pipe work. They should also offer good value for money. The appropriate boiler for houses with a traditional gravity heating system is a conventional boiler which heats up and stores water in advance of your needing it, a condensing boiler is likely to be more expensive than a conventional model but, because it extracts heat from water vapour, is a less wasteful and therefore more efficient system.