The Energy Saving Trust (EST) has said that the majority of consumers are motivated to make their homes more efficient because they want to reduce their outgoings.

More than three-quarters of householders cited cheaper fuel bills as a reason to reduce carbon output in the home, revealed Dr Paula Owen, head of knowledge services for the EST.

She pointed out that there are plenty of energy-saving measures which people can use to cut emissions, such as replacing an old boiler with a newer, more efficient model.

But despite the array of options available to consumers, Dr Owen said that huge sums of money are still being wasted every year.

An annual total of around £8 billion worth of energy goes to waste, she said, due to "homes that are poorly insulated, have inefficient or poorly-controlled heating systems and use electricity unnecessarily".

Earlier this week, Alistair Buchanan, the chief executive of Ofgem, warned that the sustainability of the UK's power supplies could be in doubt.

Speaking to BBC News, he added that fuel bills are set to rise by 20 per cent over the next decade as a result.