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By using a smart monitor you can see your usage and know when it's best to switch on appliances. By keeping a close eye on your energy usage then you can find the best ways to cut back and save us all on this massive increase on our electricity bills.

If you have solar panels I found that looking at how the 2 red lights on solar meter are flashing is a good indicator of how fast electricity is being produced. When it is flashing, don’t put lots of appliances on all at once, use extra appliances one at a time if you can. Then you won’t use too much more than its producing.

Monitoring solar generation is quite easy using a simple monitor (current cost or OWL). Rather than hooking up the monitor to the main meter, clamp your solar meter instead. All are perfectly safe, then you can see how much energy your panels are producing, add in a few more bits and you can upload to the web

DECC's recent publication of UK home insulation figures show we are being slow to wrap-up and stop heat leaking out of our homes. With energy bills rising by 70% in just over five years (uSwitch 2011) here are some ideas for making your home more energy efficient.