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How are people in Cardiff cutting back as the cost of living rises?

With energy prices skyrocketing, people in draughty and poorly insulated homes are facing significantly higher heating bills this winter.

Private housing in Wales is among the oldest and draughtiest in the UK and western Europe.

Up to 45% of households in Wales already live in fuel poverty at today's prices, spending more than 10% of their income on energy bills.

With the cost of living rising rapidly, what can you do to keep costs down?

To help with spiralling costs, homeowners and renters can make a number of small changes which will cost little or nothing, Professor Jo Patterson from Cardiff University's School of Architecture points out.

"Reduce the amount of energy you need to start with," she says. Her tips include:

"It's all incremental. A lot of people can't afford to do anything at the moment but even if you can do these small repairs you can still save 10-20% of your energy bills by spending a weekend and changing your behaviour a little bit," Professor Patterson says.

"A PV (photovoltaic) panel will provide a high proportion of the electricity households use during the day if they are at home, Professor Patterson points out. "If you're at work all day and you've got PV panels you could look at investing in a battery that would enable the energy that you're generating to be stored so you could use that in the evenings and the mornings."

Some people may qualify for help with bills from the Welsh Government or grants to make their homes more energy efficient.

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