Cost effective

Put aluminum foil behind any radiators fitted to outside walls. Ordinary kitchen foil will do, or you can buy specially designed panels from DIY stores. This will reflect the heat into the house.
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Fitting a good insulating jacket to the hot water tank if it does not have sprayed foam on the outside will ensure no heat is lost.
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Most heat (up to half the total) is lost through the walls of an un-insulated house. Wall insulation can reduce this loss by two-thirds and make the house more comfortable.
If there are cavity walls they can usually be safely filled with insulating fibre, beads or foam. If the walls are solid, internal insulation (often applied in the form of an insulated board fixed to the wall) is highly effective, but means rooms have to be redecorated and may lose architectural detail. This can be done by competent DIYers and may be done on a room by room basis at the same time the home is redecorated. External insulation usually needs planning permission and should only be carried out by specialist companies.
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Energy saving light bulbs (also known as CFL - Compact Fluorescent Lamps) use about a quarter of the electricity and last eight times longer than regular light bulbs. Light bulbs with an "A" Rating are the most efficient. Unfortunately cannot normally be used with dimmer switches or electronic timers. More information on low energy light bulb
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As much as 20% of our energy bill can be saved by good loft insulation. Lofts should be insulated to a minimum depth of 250mm (12 inches) and this can be done by either a contractor or DIY. Mineral wool (such as Rockwool or Rocksil), fibreglass and recycled paper products all work well.
It is important to wear a facemask, goggles and protective clothing for a DIY installation, and to leave sufficient gaps around the eaves to avoid condensation. The area underneath the water tanks shouldn't be insulated as this may cause the water to freeze but all pipe work and the loft hatch should be insulated.
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Modern central heating systems can run efficiently providing warm and comfortable homes at a surprisingly low cost. The overall effectiveness of a heating system depends on two things: a high-efficiency boiler that ensures little potential heat is wasted, and good controls, designed to ensure that the boiler is only working when heat is needed in the home.
More information on heating controls
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The room thermostat is best located in a living room, rather than the hallway, as is commonly done, as the hall temperature can be affected by the front door being used. The thermostat records the home's temperature and if it is at or above the set level (and 20°C/68°F is usually adequate) and stops the boiler from operating the central heating.
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Draughts are the most uncomfortable and obvious signs of a badly insulated house and can be fixed easily with either draught proofing, secondary or double glazing.
Cheap foam draught stripping will only last a couple of years before it becomes permanently compressed. Instead, polypropylene tubes are a little more expensive but last longer and are more effective.
This would not be installed to a room with an open fire or a gas fire that does not have a balanced flue, where there is no air brick near the fire. Fires need a good flow of air to burn safely and there is a danger of being poisoned by Carbon Monoxide fumes if a room is too tightly sealed.
As much as 10% of heat can be lost through un-insulated floors. There are a number of ways of solving this problem, including insulating blankets under suspended floors and laying boards over concrete floors.
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These valves enable the user to switch individual radiators on or off, depending on how warm the room that they are located in is. TRVs are not expensive and can be fitted by DIYers who are comfortable with plumbing.
More information on thermostatic control valves
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A brief description of this is needed as the bulk information doesn't obviously break down into a simple sentence and I don't really understand it!!
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Internal thermal boards can be fitted to the inside surface of the wall. It is particularly beneficial to line cold outside walls, especially those facing north or east. There are several types of insulation including foil-backed plasterboard, laminates or wooden batten in-filled with insulations. battens. Firstly fix battens on the wall and then fix the thermal boards to the battens. This will leave a gap behind the board, which will trap a layer of still, dry air - similar to double glazing your wall!
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This insulation involves adding a decorative weather-proof insulating treatment to the outside of your wall. The thickness of the insulation needs to be between 50 and 100mm and is usually installed where there are severe heating problems or the exterior of the building requires some form of other repair work providing the opportunity of adding insulation.
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