Whether it’s gas, electricity, coal, wood or LPG, the energy we use to heat and power our homes accounts for just about a quarter of our carbon footprint. It's a significant chunk of the family budget too! Our homes are our personal space where we want to be warm and comfortable and to arrange things in our own way. That means we have a good deal of control and can reduce our footprint at the same time as making our homes cheaper and cosier. There are lots of no cost and low cost improvements that can easily be made to most houses – and also some more expensive options.

The first thing is to make the best use of the energy that comes into the house. This means improving loft insulation, adding cavity wall insulation, draft stripping and getting an efficient boiler. An uninsulated loft can mean 26% of the heat you pay for goes straight out of the roof. Similarly 33% of heat lost from your house goes out through the walls.

It can be an expensive business heating the air outside your house! Check out the Home Insulation Scheme, which is offering free advice, and reduced cost loft and cavity wall insulation. They can also advise on grants and loans available. You can visit the website of the Energy Savings Trust, or phone 0800 512 012. Callander is one of the qualifying areas.

You can make great savings through small changes in you habits. Things like switching off TVs and computers rather than leaving them on standby, changing to low energy lightbulbs, and turning your thermostat down by 1 degree all make small but important contributions. It is possible to save 20% on you bills from these no cost changes alone.

The final approach is to consider how the energy you use is generated. Could you switch to a greener energy supplier, generate your own power and qualify for a feed-in tariff , or support Callander's Community Hydro Generation project?