Families are competing to find out who can save the most money by going green.

The contest, part of this week's Big Switch Off campaign, calls on people to save electricity by making sure lights and appliances are switched off when they are not needed.

Some 18 households have signed up for the competition.

Each has been given a free meter to measure their energy use and to calculate who makes the biggest savings.

Rommel Villarico, 31, his wife, Cristina, 33, and their daughters Eliza and Linabeth are among those hoping to gain the top spot.

Rommel, of Measham, said the family's average quarterly bill was £300, but they were confident of cutting this by half, saving them £600 a year.

He said: "We've been given a free meter which we'll be using to monitor electricity usage and see which appliances are costing us the most.

"It has been an eye-opener. We've found the kettle works out at about 30p an hour to run.

"We are planning to make sure we all stay in one room this winter whenever we can, so we are only really using electricity in one place.

"It has been a good reminder so far to make sure things such as our PC are switched off."

Ann-Marie Moore and her husband Wayne, from Hinckley, have three children living at home and were keen to stop wasting electricity.

Mrs Moore said: "We were leaving computers turned on when we weren't using them.

"Just by turning them off, we noticed a difference.

"Since the start of the Big Switch Off, we have been making an extra effort to switch things off we are not using, from hair straighteners to lamps.

"We are quite a big family and it would be nice to see our energy use reduced."

Professor Mike Preston, chairman of Environmental Action for a Better Leicestershire, which worked with councils on the Big Switch Off campaign, said: "I am delighted there are families out there who are so keen to do their bit.

"I wish them the best of luck in the contest and, hopefully, they will see a real difference in their energy use – and their pockets."

Over the week of the campaign, energy use across Leicestershire and Rutland has been monitored by Central Networks, which will report whether the drive has made a difference to energy use.

The prize for the winning family is a hamper of food and energy-saving products.

www.leics.gov.uk/bigswitchoff