The cost of home heating and cooling has risen yet again this year, and will probably continue to do so, so if you haven't already done it, now is a good time to start reducing your home energy costs.

Heating and cooling our homes uses around 57% of the total energy consumed in most homes, and the easiest way to save money is to adjust the thermostat on the appliances used for heating and cooling. Down or up by as little a two degrees can make a difference of $100 or more per year. Older appliances may well be using a great deal more energy than they should so it could be worth investing in a newer, more energy efficient appliance.

Very small measures can save a lot on cooling your home. It may sound incredibly obvious, but you'd be surprised how many people neglect to simply open a window to cool down their homes rather than letting the air-conditioning kick in! Also, keep your blinds closed during the hottest part of the day in order to reduce some of the heat that gets into each room. A white or light colored blind or shade will deflect the heat back outside.

If you use an air-conditioning unit, ensure that you don't place lamps or any other source of potential heat near its thermostat or it will mistake the heat from the lamp as being an indication of the overall house temperature.

Also, cooking can generate a considerable amount of heat in your home, so wherever possible, grill and cook outside.

With regarding to heating your home, if you can afford the initial investment, solar powered heating could pay for itself within a few years and of course, is far friendlier to the environment than traditional heating systems. If however that is too expensive to consider right now, one old remedy to the cold that tends to be forgotten is to just add another layer of clothing before you reach for the thermostat. Several light layers will keep you warmer than one bulky layer. If you have radiators in every room of your house, consider turning a few off in rooms that don't get used often. This will cut down your bills quite considerably.

In the winter months, a very effective method of draught excluding is to put Saran wrap across all your windows, then seal with tape. Repeat with another layer and ensure that both layers are firmly taped down, then simply run a hair dryer on a low heat setting over the wrap which will seal it.

Putting draught excluders against all your doors will help keep heat in and cold out too. You can make these at home from old fabric and stuffed with pretty much anything, so there's no need to buy them ready-made.

Most importantly though, don't forget those thermostats. A few degrees either way will save you hundreds!