GO GREEN AND SAVE

The economic climate being the way it is at the moment means we are looking at how we can cut back and save money in every area of our lives. But it isn't just in economics where the climate is changing; global warming is also threatening to change our lives now and in the future.

Going about our daily lives, we contribute over 40% of the UK's total greenhouse gas emissions and of this 40% around two thirds comes from our boilers.

The idea of going green may not be at the top of your to-do list right now; with unemployment increasing and the economy in a slump you might feel like there are more important things to think about than checking if your boiler is 'green'.

But energy efficient boilers will not only be less harmful to the atmosphere, they will save you money too.

Known as condensing boilers, these environmentally friendly boilers extract heat energy from the exhaust gases and turn water vapour back into water. This means less gas is expelled through the flue.

In monetary terms this basically means one of these boilers could cut your heating bill by £170 a year and will stop 875kg of CO2 escaping into the atmosphere. If everyone in the UK installed one then we'd save 13 million tonnes of CO2 and enough energy to heat 3.4 million homes for a year.

What's the catch? New boilers are rather expensive, and most of us just can't be bothered to get a new one unless our current one breaks. However, at the moment British Gas is actually giving you a financial incentive to upgrade your old, polluting boiler for a shiny new energy efficient one.

You could save £852 is you upgrade by 25 July. This includes £400 off a new boiler, free home care for a year and free radiator and heating controls installation.

These heating controls can save you another £100 because you can control the heat in each room using timers and thermostats, so less heat is wasted.

Take a look at the British Gas website for money saving deals on Vaillant boilers.