Britons curb almost a million energy-wasting habits

We are pleased to reveal the most and least environmentally committed areas in the UK and thanks everyone who has promised to change their energy wasting habits at home. However, the 934,281 commitments made by UK householders reveal a clear divide between people's willingness to commit to help fight climate change on a daily level versus on a long-term basis.

To date, UK householders who joined our commit to " Save Your 20%" campaign - an energy saving movement which launched in autumn 2006, and runs until April 2008 - will collectively be able to save over £24 million off the UK's annual domestic fuel bill - which is enough to pay the annual energy bills of 27,000 households, and would save enough carbon dioxide (CO2) over the course of a year to fill almost a million double-decker buses ( 172,000 tonnes).

Analysis of all commitments reveals a clear divide between people's level of commitment: around three quarters (74%) of the commitments made by people were to change daily energy-usage habits; whereas only a quarter (26%) were commitments to undertake larger home improvement energy saving measures, which have potential to save significantly more money and CO2 - £10.4m and £14m respectively.

• 74% of the commitments made were, promises to change daily energy saving habits - such as switching to Energy Saving Recommended lightbulbs, boiling only the water required in the kettle, turning the room thermostat down by 1 ^oC washing laundry at 30 ^o C instead of a higher temperature. If the people who have made these commitments keep their promises, collectively their actions will save around £10.4m off the nation's annual domestic fuel bill, that's enough CO2 to fill 410,000 double-decker buses (around 72,000 tonnes).

• 26% of the commitments made were promises to undertake energy saving home improvement measures - such as installing a condensing boiler or loft or cavity wall insulation. If the people who have made these commitments keep their promises, collectively their actions will save around £14m off the nation's annual domestic fuel bill, that's enough CO2 to fill 570,000 double-decker buses (over 100,000 tonnes).

Joan Ruddock, Minister for Climate Change at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: " The 'Save Your 20%' campaign shows how much difference individuals can make in the fight against climate change. We can all save energy by making simple changes. By using energy more efficiently we can save money and do our bit towards saving the planet. I would like to congratulate the Energy Saving Trust on their campaign and hope that people will continue to sign up and knock 20 per cent off their energy use. We really can make a difference."

So how committed are England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to save energy at home to help fight climate change?

In England, when it comes to committing to save energy and CO2 in the home, the results of the campaign reveal Londoners are the most committed; their dedication is closely matched by householders in Cambridgeshire, Hampshire, Gloucestershire and South Yorkshire. Residents in these five English counties will collectively make a saving of over £6.3m off the UK's annual fuel bill - which would pay for the annual energy bills of over 7,000 homes (over 44,000 tonnes of CO2 per year). By comparison, residents in Humberside, Leicestershire, North Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Cheshire all showed the lowest levels of commitment. Residents in these areas will collectively save £184,000 off the UK's annual domestic fuel bill - which would pay for the annual energy bills of 200 homes (around 1,300 tonnes of CO2 per year).

In Scotland, when it comes to committing to save energy and CO2 in the home, the results of the campaign revealed the residents of Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire and Dunbartonshire to have the highest levels of commitment. If all residents who committed in these three areas honour their promises, they will collectively save £447,000 off Scotland's annual domestic fuel bill - which is enough to pay the annual energy bills of 492 homes (over 3,000 tonnes of CO2 per year). By comparison, it revealed residents of Selkirkshire, Morayshire and Peebleshire have the lowest levels of commitment. If they keep their promises they will save around £860.00 off Scotland's annual domestic fuel bill - which would pay the annual energy bill of one UK home (around six tonnes of CO2 per year).

In Wales, when it comes to committing to save energy and CO2 in the home, the results of the campaign revealed the residents of Dyfed to have the highest levels of commitment. If all Dyfed residents who made commitments keep their promises, collectively they will save around £72,000 a year off Wales' annual domestic fuel bill - which will pay the annual energy bills of 79 households (saving almost 500 tonnes of CO2 a year). By comparison, it revealed the residents of West Glamorgan to have the lowest levels of commitment. If all West Glamorgan residents who committed keep their promises, collectively they will still save almost £3,000 off Wales' annual domestic fuel bill - which would pay the annual energy bills for three average-sized homes (around 19 tonnes of CO2 a year).

In Northern Ireland, when it comes to committing to save energy and CO2 in the home, the results of the campaign revealed the residents of County Antrim to have the highest levels of commitment. If all County Antrim residents who made commitments honour their promises, collectively they will save over £900,000 off the nation's annual energy bill - which would pay the annual fuel bills of over 1,000 homes (saving around 6,400 tonnes of CO2 a year). By comparison, the residents of County Fermanagh showed the lowest levels of commitment. However, if all those who committed keep their promises they will still save a considerable amount - over £83,000 a year off the nation's annual domestic energy bill - which would pay for the annual fuel bills of 92 homes (around 570 tonnes of CO2 a year).

Support our campaign - commit to save your 20%

Give your home a check up and you could save around £250 a year

How efficient is your home? Take a trip around our interactive home to see where you could take simple steps to save energy and money or call your local Energy Saving Trust advice centre on 0800 512 012.