Changing our behaviour to tackle the array of environmental problems we face is a daunting task, and what goes on in our homes might seem like an insignificant piece of the puzzle. But where we live is in fact a great place to start. Why? Many of the cheapest ways to reduce carbon emissions can be carried out by us, in our humble homes. What's more, our houses account for over a quarter of the UK’s carbon dioxide emissions, and in them we produce 10% of the nations’ waste.

Insulating a loft may seem like a small act, but multiply it by the 22 million households in the UK and soon the savings will start to pile up. An un-insulated house can lose up to 60% of the heat put into it, and each year enough heat is lost from UK homes to heat another 1.9 million!

With their sash windows and old walls, our city’s handsome Regency and Victorian buildings are particularly guilty. However help is at hand, and with plenty of local firms able to offer insulation, double glazing and draft proofing, you'll soon be able to retain that valuable heat. As a result you’ll use less energy, lower your bills and reduce your carbon footprint. Indeed, if every house in the UK installed 27cms of loft insulation, we could save another 2.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide every year.

Making our homes warmer makes economic and environmental sense, but the options don’t end there. The Victorians built these houses to run on coal, but today we're ucky enough to have a variety of greener alternatives to power them. Solar panels can turn our roofs into mini power stations, converting the sun’s free energy into electricity and hot water, whilst wood burners provide a low carbon alternative to gas heating. Tapping into these local, renewable power sources reduces our dependence on fossil fuels and also helps us break free from the grip of the multinational companies that control them. People also find that generating their own power at home encourages a better understanding and management of their energy usage, making it easier to save money and resources.

There are plenty of things you can do to turn your house into an eco-dream home, and in the following pages you’ll find lots of creative local companies eager to show you how to cut your bills and your carbon footprint.