Let’s use some of that energy we saved (Image: Nick M. Do/Photodisc/Getty)

SURVEYS of hundreds of UK households reveal that people who have made their houses more energy efficient are more likely to indulge in small excesses – turning up the heating, for example, or keeping it on for longer.

Small excesses add up to large costs. The results of the studies – seven of them in total – suggest that such energy creep could wipe out as much as half of the anticipated savings from making homes more energy efficient (Building Research & Information, vol 38, issue 1).

“Some householders who install double-glazing, insulation and energy-efficient boilers end …