Taking the heat out of soaring energy prices | Letters

Diana Wilkins spells out measures to curb energy consumption, and Andrew Knowles bemoans the privatisation of essential services. Plus letters from Hilary Lang and Dr Christopher Sait

Amid all the discussion about how to mitigate the cost of energy price rises for households (Report, 3 February), there has been no mention of how to cut energy use in the first place. Rather than offset the cost by discounts, the money would be better used to reduce long-term energy consumption by making buildings as energy-efficient as possible and thereby helping to meet climate change commitments, too. It's not rocket science.

We can go a long way to improve the situation by ensuring lofts are insulated, windows are double-glazed and fit correctly, letterbox holes are plugged and external mailboxes fitted instead, draught excluders are fitted around wooden front doors, curtains have thermal linings etc.