Your key statistics are: kilowatt hours of electricity and gas; litres of heating oil and mains water used; and the number of wheelie bins of un-recycled waste produced each year.

The excellent energy calculator on Sustainable Energy Ireland's website . . .

www. combatclimatechange. ie . . . tells you how much energy you and your family use and how much carbon dioxide you produce.

2. INSTALL ENERGY-EFFICIENT LIGHTING This is an easy step. Traditional tungsten bulbs use up to "ve times more electricity than energy-saving bulbs. At all costs, eliminate the use of multiple halogen down-lighters and up-lighters . . . the sort of lights that are so popular "tted "ush into the ceilings of our kitchens and bathrooms. Many refurbished homes with such lighting use up to eight times more energy for lighting than even the old tungsten bulbs, and up to 40 times more energy than would be used with energy-saving bulbs.

Cost is no longer an issue, as the bulbs can be found in some DIY stores and online for just over 1. They can pay for themselves in three months.

Check out www. lighting. philips. com and click on the Ireland site for more information on Philips energy-saving lighting products.

3. LEARN TO USE YOUR HEATING CONTROLS The single largest source of wasted CO2 emissions is also one of the easiest to solve. We've tended to hide the meters and controls of our heating and electricity systems away in darkened cupboards. As a result, the vast majority of homes and businesses don't have a clue how their controls work. Either the previous occupant did not leave clear instructions or the manual has been lost.

If you do one thing, make it a resolution to "nd out how your heating controls work and to programme them to the most ef"cient settings.

Ideally we should put the controls where they can be seen and operated with ease, that way you can keep an eye on temperatures and plan when to have a shower or use the washing machine so there's no need to use additional power.

If you've lost your instruction manuals contact the manufacturers' names you see labelled on your heating and hot-water systems via the internet to get them.

4 GO RETRO When it comes to buying furniture one of the greenest solutions is to go retro. Oxfam Ireland, eBay and www. dublinwaste. ie are great sources of used furniture; so too are "ea markets and car boot sales.

8. USE SALVAGE YARDS Up to 20% of a house's carbon footprint will be generated in the manufacture of its building materials, and in its construction. The same applies to refurbishing existing homes. The most important part of a refurbishment is to think about whether it's necessary in the "rst place. The number of perfectly good "tted kitchens that are ripped out after "ve years is appalling.

If you need a change of scenery, paint your units a different colour, or just replace the cupboard doors with a different style, rather than ripping the whole thing out.

The second thing to think about is to see if you can use architectural rescue materials. People love these yards. They are fascinating places to wander through, and they give a home much more character and history than buying something new that's been churned out in the Far East. Buying at salvage yards can also supply some of the more mundane but essential items, such as wooden bath panelling, shower heads and glass walls of a shower unit.

The Salvo website . . . www. salvoweb. com . . . has a list of architectural rescue yards in Ireland by county. A few good sites worth visiting are www. wilsonsyard. com and www. architecturalsalvage. ie 9. THE GREEN RECIPE FOR SUCCESS It's amazing how little we hear about ef"cient cookers.

One way to reduce energy cooking is to either roast everything or cook everything on the hob.

A steamer is also great as it can boil potatoes, steam vegetables and heat sauce all on one ring. You can go one step further by buying a steam oven.

Other energy saving cooking devices that are under-used include pressure cookers, insulated deep fat fryers (although not totally healthy) and slow casseroles.

10. USE GREEN PAINTS The usual poisonous petroleum-based paints from your local DIY store are "lled with VOCs (volatile organic compounds), which are carcinogenic and result in massive toxic wastage in the chemical production process. They are a health risk to professional painters and are the source of those awful decorating fumes. The fumes continue to be emitted for years after the paint has been applied in your home. Eco-friendly decorating materials are available from www. traditionallime. com 12. STOP COLD DRAUGHTS Sealing up gaps in your doors, windows and roof is one of the cheapest and easiest ways to reduce heat-loss. Heating uses more energy than anything else in a home; it's the source of 60-70% of most homes' CO2 emissions. Selfadhesive insulation tape closes gaps in windows and doors and costs only a few euro . . . and it's easy to do a tidy job. Put draught excluders at the bottom of all outside doors and make sure there are no draughts from letter-boxes and keyholes. Close up unused chimneys and seal gaps in ground-"oor "oorboards. Check for gaps around piping emerging from the house. Curtains with thermal linings also help to keep heat in.

Strip insulation, insulated letter boxes and door-brushes are available from your local DIY store.

13. THE ECO EXTENSION The best eco-extension is, of course, the one that's never built! Sometimes just by changing the way existing rooms are used we can create more space, which will ultimately save thousands of euro and tones of CO2 that would be used in the construction of an extension.

If the extension is absolutely necessary, ensure only timber from sustainable forests and organic paints are used and take the opportunity to install ultra-energy-ef"cient lighting and water-ef"cient equipment. Site any new radiators on internal walls, so they don't leak the heat through to the outside.

If you can, incorporate a passive solar design. This is when windows and walls are positioned to maximise the heat provided by sunshine. In winter, it will cut heating costs, as will maximum levels of insulation in the walls and ceilings. Another key element is to use architectural salvage building materials.

5. PULL THE PLUG ON WASTING WATER There's a simple way to cut your water usage by up to one-third: install spray taps on all your sinks. You can either "t new taps, install metal screw-in adapters or buy cheap rubber versions to push on to the end of your taps.

You could also "t the most ef"cient modern dual-"ush lavatory, which uses either 4.5 litres or two litres per "ush. However, you do not have to rip out your lovely Victorian loo to make it more ef"cient. Place water-"lled plastic bottles in the tank . . . as many as you can while still getting a "ush that works.

The single largest user of water is "ushing the toilet, 50 to 60 litres per person per day. To combat water wastage from toilet use you could also retro-"t an Inter"ush device (www. inter"ush. co. uk), which will stop the loo "ushing when you let the handle go and so mimics the effect of a dual-"ush control. Most of us living in towns and cities will not "nd ourselves able to go for the ultimate eco-loo . . . a composting toilet . . . but pee is great for the compost heap!

Even more important, install an aerating shower-head that inserts bubbles of air into the hot water and so reduces "ow by up to 30%, without any reduction in force.

Hansgrohe offers elegant aerating shower heads; visit www. bathrooms2000. com, ww. elegantjohn. ie or contact your local bathroom showroom for more information on Hansgrohe products.

6. LET THE SUN HEAT YOUR WATER People think there's only one kind of solar panel: the kind that generates electricity (solar photovoltaic systems). But there's a simpler variety, designed to heat water, namely a solar water heater or solar combisystem.

According to Sustainable Energy Ireland's website, a solar water heater is suitable for most properties. All you need is space to put the solar panels (generally on the roof) and room for the storage cylinder in your hotpress or utility room. The panels should be orientated between southeast and southwest and not be overshadowed by trees or other buildings.

And don't worry if there's not that much sunlight. A solar water heater not only converts direct sunlight but also indirect sunlight into heat, so it works even when the sky is overcast.

The panels take up to three days to install (by a professional) and can cost from 2,000 up to 5,000 depending on the size of panels and number of people in your household.

For more advice and information visit www. sei. ie 7. TREAT YOURSELF TO A NEW FRIDGE While the mantra in an eco-home should be to reuse everything you can, and try not to replace unnecessarily, as a fridge is on 24 hours a day . . . it's crucial that yours is the most ef"cient possible. If not, it's time to buy a new one.

The EU energy-rating marks make this easy: A+ fridges use up to 25% less energy than those rated A.

Ef"cient washing machines use less water, detergent and electricity, so they're crucial too.

There is, however, no room in an eco home for a tumble drier. These are voracious consumers of energy, using up to 4KwH of electricity each time you put a load in. If you have one, stop using it, now. A clothes horse costs less and will last longer.

11. GROW GREEN FINGERS If you're lucky enough to have a garden at your home, use it as an invaluable ecoresource. An eco-garden will be a refuge for nature and a source of peace and quiet for your household. It will also help to recycle kitchen waste through a composter and could provide you with fruit, herbs and vegetables, helping to reduce your food miles and packaging waste.

It is not to be concreted or decked over and illuminated with "oodlights and warmed by patio heaters. If you need security lights outside, ensure that they have movement sensors. If you want lighting, small lights with built-in solar panels are very cheap, and you don't have to worry about the cost of wiring them up.

For composters that take all your cooked and uncooked food, including meat, "sh and dairy products, from just 185 including delivery and VAT, visit www. greencone. ie.

14. HEAT YOUR HOME WITH AN ECO-FIRE To help achieve the dream of a carbon-neutral eco-home consider buying a wood-burning pellet stove.

Pellets (compressed wood that looks a bit like rabbit food) have lower emissions of CO2, are easier to transport and store due to higher energy density, produce less ash.

For an average 150sq m Irish house heated with a wood pellet stove with back boiler costing from 3,750 and using pellet fuel costing 21 cent per kg, you could save 10,000 on heating over the next 20 years.

For more information visit www. solarenergyireland. com and www. stovesireland. com.

15. INSULATE WALLS AND ROOFS Up to 50% of heating is lost through the walls in our homes and 30% via the roof. For older properties, wall insulation can be expensive.

Double glazing is also costly. A compromise is to only double glaze the windows in the most-used rooms . . . and double glaze existing windows.

Keep curtains closed at night and make sure that they don't hang over the radiators. If space permits you could "x re"ective foil, backed by insulation, behind any radiators mounted on external walls. Insulating your attic can save up to 20% on your home heating bill. If your attic insulation is currently less than 200mm you should add more layers.

For attic insulation visit www. aandainsulation. com or www. sheepwoolinsulation. ie. For double glazing on existing sash windows visit www. sashwindows. ie.

Donnachadh McCarthy works as a business and home eco-auditor and is the author of 'Saving the Planet Without Costing the Earth' (www.3acorns. co. uk)