The right home improvements can save you money beginning almost immediately and increase the resale value of your home, while also making your home a more comfortable place to live. In the future many home buyers are going to be much more concerned with energy efficiency and total cost of ownership.

Tighten you HVAC Duct Work - Leaky ducts that run through unconditioned attics or crawl spaces can waste huge amounts of energy.

Upgrade to an On demand Water heater - Replacing your standard water heater with a high efficiency on demand water heater could save you as much as 40% on your water heating bill. However, if you use lots of hot water, and you use it all day and all night long (got teenagers?), then your savings will be less than if you use hot water less frequently. The reason for this is that an on demand heater saves energy mostly because it doesn’t keep a big tank full of water hot 24 hours a day whether you need it or not. On the other hand, if you do have constant demand for lots of hot water, an on demand heater has the added advantage that it never runs out of hot water. The word on the street seems to be that most households will experience long term savings by using an on demand water heater, but I have not been able to verify this by way of a reliable scientific source yet.

Upgrade to a Programmable Thermostat - According to several reliable sources this may be the one home improvement that gives the most bang for the buck. Programmable thermostats are readily available in the $100 price range at home improvement stores, and are not difficult for a do it yourselfer to install. It basically boils down to this; heating and cooling your house is your largest energy expense and if you turn your heating and cooling down or off even for a few hours a day, you will save money. And, a programmable thermostat will take care of it for you like clockwork. You might have heard that this won’t really work, because the system has to work extra hard when the HVAC Kicks back on, but don’t believe it, research has proven that this home improvement really works.

Install a Water Heater Timer - Heating water is the second largest energy hog in your home so installing a water heater timer and setting it to turn the heater off during times of low demand such as over night and during the work day, will pay off almost immediately. Water heater timers are pretty simple to install and cost from $30-$100. FYI, digital water heater timers are available that allow you to have a different schedule for weekends than during the work week. Just Google for “digital water heater timer.” Of course always remember to turn off the electricity before working on any wiring, and if you have any doubts whatsoever about your ability to safely do something like this, then hire an electrician.

A common misconception is that a water heater works harder than normal to recover after the thermostat has been set back, resulting in little or no savings. This misconception has been dispelled by years of research and numerous studies. It is always best to put your water heater on a timer, as the energy lost from a hot water tank depends on the temperature difference between the surface of the tank and its surroundings. It’s a common myth that it somehow takes more energy to keep heating up a tank than it does to maintain it at a normal temperature.

Of course, as with all myths, there are a few “ifs” and “buts”. If the tank is highly insulated (so standing losses are very low) and there is an effective thermostat on the tank, then the losses caused by leaving it on all the time can be much reduced. And some people have a need for large quantities of hot water all day long, in which case they may have no alternative except to leave the heater on all the time. But in general, it is much better to install a timer. A water heater timer, can cost less than $40 and if you can install it yourself safely, could pay for itself in a few months and is an excellent investment. If you have to hire an electrician, then of course it will take longer to recoup your investment, but it can still be worthwhile. FYI, many home improvement stores will hook you up with professional installers for a fixed price. When considering the economics of energy efficient home improvements always keep in mind that the cost of energy will almost certainly continue to increase.

Add a Water Heater Blanket to your Existing Water Heater - Adding Insulation to your water heater if taken to an extreme, might be almost as effective as replacing your water heater with an on demand unit, or installing a water heater timer. However, you would be talking about an awful lot of insulation (like 12 inches or so) including the top and bottom. Just adding a moderate amount of additional insulation probably makes more sense for most people. You can get a water heater “blanket” for less than $20 at home centers and hardware stores, which is made just for this purpose, or you can simply wrap up your water heater with fiberglass insulation and plastic film. Obviously this would be a lot easier if the tank wasn’t already installed, but it’s not too difficult anyway. A nice extra touch would be to put a piece of 1/2″ EPS (Expanded PolyStyrene also known as “Styrofoam” which is a registered trademark of Dow Corning) under the water heater, although I don’t know how much it would really help. Of course, turn off the electricity or gas before you start and don’t get any insulation too close to burners, or vents.

Install Low Flow Shower Heads to Save Hot Water - Low flow shower heads are inexpensive, very easy to install, and simply reduce the amount of hot water that you use.

Upgrade to Low flow Aerators in all Faucets to Save Hot Water - Many faucets already come with low flow aerators, however retrofitting them is as simple as unscrewing the existing aerator and screwing in the new one.

Add Trickler Valves to your Showers to Save Hot Water - A trickler valve allows you to turn off or reduce the flow of water in the shower while you are lathering up or shaving or whatever without having to readjust the temperature when you turn the water back on. Some shower heads include a trickler valve.

Get a new High efficiency Heating and cooling system - If your HVAC is worn out or obsolete, then a new high efficiency professionally installed system is one of the ultimate home improvements for energy savings. Shop around and educate yourself about the different types of systems and how they are rated for efficiency. Go to the effort to find a quality installer too. The best system there is will be lackluster if improperly installed. Keep in mind that you usually get what you pay for as far as quality equipment and workmanship.

Install More insulation - Any time you get the opportunity to add insulation to your home you should do so, at least until you have achieved the high end of the industry standard for your area. If you have any under insulated areas of your home which are still accessible, such as unfinished attics or crawl spaces, you should have them upgraded at least to a level which is appropriate for your area. If you are going to replace or install new siding on your home, you can usually have a layer of insulation installed under the siding for a very reasonable cost. If your exterior walls don’t already contain insulation, then it can be blown in to the cavities, and the holes can easily be patched and covered with the new siding. Otherwise, adding insulation to already enclosed areas (like exterior walls) can be cost prohibitive, but it can be done. Holes can also be cut in drywall from the inside of a house, and patched after insulation is blown in, however the drywall repairs will probably cost more than the insulation work unless you do it yourself. However, this kind of drywall repair is something that actually can be done by a determined do it yourselfer.

Install a Radiant barrier in your Attic - A radiant barrier is basically a reflective layer (more or less like aluminum foil) which augments your attic insulation. It can be installed either directly on the bottom side of the roof decking, on the bottom side of the rafters with an airspace between the roof deck and the radiant barrier(the best way), or directly on top of the attic insulation (the worst way, because it will quickly get dusty and loose it’s effectiveness). A radiant barrier is mostly useful for reducing the cooling load on your air conditioner, therefore should probably mostly be considered only if you live in the sunbelt. According to where you live, and the kind of attic that you have, this could be a very cost effective do it yourself project. Lots of technical information on this subject can be found at DOE radiant barrier fact sheet and Florida Solar Energy Center - radiant barrier fact sheet.

Tighten Your Thermal Envelope - The “Thermal Envelope” is the exterior walls, attics, and foundations of your home which contain (or should contain) insulation, and which keeps the heat inside in the winter, and outside in the summer. Air Infiltration can account for a huge percentage of your heating and cooling bill, and tightening up the thermal envelope of your home is one of the most economical and economically rewarding tasks that you can do yourself. Arm yourself with a caulk gun and plug up every hole, crack, or gap you
can find inside and out. Then remove plug and switch covers and install foam gaskets on all of them, while you have them off, also caulk between the drywall, and the box that the wiring device is in, and also any holes in the box and around where the wires enter the device box. Put one of the plastic safety plugs that you find in the Baby Proofing section of the home improvement store into every receptacle that doesn’t have something plugged into it. You can also take down lights (without disconnecting the wiring) and seal around the wiring device box that they are mounted on, and the holes in the boxes where the wires come in. Always turn off the electricity before working around wiring. Give this same treatment to all lights or plugs that are on the outside of your house. If you are competent to work around electrical equipment take off the cover of your electrical panel (if it is inside of the heated space of your house) and seal the gap between the panel and the drywall. But be aware that you can not normally de-energize the entire inside of the electrical panel, so leave the cover on it unless you are sure that you know what you are doing. According to the Canadian Government “Simple Caulk and Seal” can save as much as 30% on your heat bill.

New windows - If your house has old worn out windows, or windows of an obsolete design, then new or replacement windows may be called for. By the way, there is quite a difference between new (New Construction that is) and replacement windows. New construction windows require the replacement of all parts of the old window, including all interior and exterior trim. The advantage to using new construction windows (if it is possible,because it isn’t always) is that you can do a better job of installing and sealing the window to the house. Replacement Windows usually don’t require replacing interior or exterior trim, because the existing trim remains in place and the replacement window occupies the space vacated by the sashes. Some kind of trim work is usually required on the exterior, but it is pretty minor compared to using new construction windows. Installing replacement windows is much quicker and easier than installing new construction windows, and is probably more suited to the needs of a do it yourselfer. In either case, even if you decide to install new windows yourself, I would reccomend that you have the window dealer measure for them, because a small error in measurement can be a big mistake. Also, remember that you will usually get what you pay for, and look for windows that are energy star compliant.

Storm windows - Storm windows might be an economical way to improve the energy efficiency of your existing windows. They are relatively inexpensive, and easy to install. However, storm windows installed over old leaky windows will never be as good as high quality replacement windows, cleaning your windows will be much more of a hassle than with replacement windows, and storm windows will not have much positive impact on the resale value of your home (if any). Nonetheless, if storm windows are all that you can afford, they might make a difference in the heating and cooling costs for your home by reducing air infiltration. However, according to the Florida solar energy research center, storm windows are probably not cost effective in the semi tropical Florida climate.

Repair leaky doors - If your exterior doors are in good shape, but they leak air around the door panel, then repairing the weather strips and threshold can give you results as good as replacing the entire door and jamb system, but for a lot less cash outlay. Once you have caulked and painted it, your door will be as good as new. To make the job easier, take some samples of the old weatherstrip with you to the home improvement store, and match it as closely as possible. Usually you can get material that is a perfect replacement, but even if you can’t, the store will have products that are “universal fit” which will still yield excellent results if you do a good job of installing them. One word of caution though, in most cases adhesive alone will not attach the new weatherstrip well enough to give a trouble free installation, so consider “peel and stick” to be more of an assembly aid than anything.

Install storm doors - Unlike storm windows, installing a high quality storm door over an existing door can give you a better result than a brand new replacement door by itself can. Top quality storm doors are not cheap, but you get what you pay for in both quality, and looks. A top quality storm door also looks good. A cheap one just looks cheap. However, even a cheap storm door will drastically improve the thermal performance of an exterior door if it is well installed.

Ceiling fans - Ceiling fans can save you energy in two ways. In the summer, they can make you feel cooler and allow you to set your thermostat at a higher temperature thus saving money on air conditioning. In the winter, they can help to prevent heat cavitation near the ceiling, and actually make the air near the floor warmer than it would be, especially if you have higher ceilings. As a general rule they should probably be turned off when the room isn’t occupied. Consider looking for energy star compliant fans.

Dehumidifiers - In some circumstances a dehumidifier can save you money. If your house is humid then you will have to air condition to a lower temperature in order to feel comfortable. This often is the case if your AC is sized too big, because it will “short cycle” and not run long enough to properly dehumidify your home. Try to put your dehumidifier as close as possible to the main air return grill so that dehumidified air is pulled directly into the system and distributed throughout your home. Then you can set your AC thermostat to a higher temp. Many dehumidifiers are quite noisy, so try to get one that is as quiet as possible, and look for the energy star logo.

Replace obsolete appliances - Nothing lasts forever, and technology generally improves over time. Try to anticipate the need to replace an aging appliance, and shop around so that you can become informed. The alternative is to have to buy a new refrigerator before everything in the old (broken) one spoils. Unless you work best under pressure, you probably won’t make the best choice in that situation. Pay attention to the energy ratings, and look for energy star compliant appliances.

Repair appliances that aren’t ready for replacement - Many appliances can be renovated to considerably extend their useful life span. The seals on refrigerators and freezers should be tight enough to clamp down on a strip of paper at all points. If your clothes seem to be taking longer to dry, your electric clothes dryer may just need a new heating element, or the exhaust duct may be clogged or crushed. Oven door seals can often be easily replaced. Some repairs can be easily done by the homeowner.

Compact florescent bulbs - You should make a vow to never buy another incandescent light bulb. They now make high quality compact florescent bulbs that are suitable for almost any fixture, and even though they are a lot more expensive up front, they can pay back in only one year, and they can last for up to 7 years. Look for energy star compliant bulbs. The really cheap ones from the discount club stores often have thermal ballasts and don’t last all that long.

Energy efficient landscaping - Careful placement of the right trees, shrubs and vines can contribute to the energy efficiency of your home. Deciduous trees (those that drop their leaves in the fall) can shade your house in the summer, and allow the sun to shine on it in the winter, thus helping year round. Evergreen trees which are planted to block the prevailing wind can improve the microclimate around your home in the winter. Vines growing on a trellis can accomplish the same things in a shorter period of time. Never plant any tree or shrub close enough to the house to crowd the foundation or hang over the roof though. Either condition will often foster rot and insect damage. The same goes for vines actually climbing on the house. Don’t allow it. Obviously large trees and evergreen windbreaks are long term investments that require careful planning and consideration, and poor choices of species or locations can actually do more harm than good. Also, don’t fail to consider the maintenance requirements of plants. Some require very little maintenance, and some require quite a lot. Look into it before you plant.

Get an Energy Audit - A proffesional energy audit will let you know how you are doing, and will highlight what you still need to do, and there is no substitute for it. In a complete audit they will install a blower door, which is just a door with a fan built into it. The blower door will make the house leak anywhere that it can. Then they will use an infrared camera to find where all of the leaks are. A complete audit will also include a similar test of your HVAC ducts to find if you are leaking conditioned air into the attic or crawl space through leaky ducts. Call your electric utility provider, and ask them how you can get an energy audit. Some utilities offer energy audits free to their customers. Ask about it.

Improve your homes energy efficiency and lower your monthly energy bills with a modest amount of work that you can do yourself, and with only a few very affordable materials. If you are a home owner, then you know that maintaining your home is a never ending process. But, by changing or adding a few maintenance items to your regular routine, you can make your home more comfortable and energy efficient with very little extra effort or expense. In the process you will also help to insure that your home will last longer, and has the highest possible resale value.

Maintain

Change the furnace filter at least every 30 days.

If you have a ventilated crawl space, make sure that the vents are closed tightly when you are heating, and
open the rest of the time. Consider installing automatic vents (about $15 each)

Remove any obstructions around exterior heat pump units, such as overgrown bushes or trees.

Correct any kind of plumbing leak no matter how minor, either from a faucet, pipe or pressure relief valve.
Check all crawl spaces where pipes run for leaking or uninsulated pipes.

Clean the lint filter on your dryer after every load.

Clean the coils on the back and underneath your refrigerator and freezer at least four times a year.

Caulk and seal

Air infiltration is the number one source of wasted energy in most houses, Therefore
it is one of the most important issues to address if you hope to save energy.

If you have leaky doors and windows your preferred first choice would probably be to have them professionally replaced, another choice could be to install storm doors and windows, especially if you live in a cold climate. However, the home owner can often make huge improvements with a very small investment in materials and a weekend or two of effort by repairing and installing new weatherstrips and caulking. Consider covering windows with plastic using one of the kits that you can get at any hardware or home improvement store, especially if your windows are old or of an obsolete design. It may not be pretty, but the results can be dramatic.

After tightening the doors and windows arm yourself with a caulk gun and plug up every hole, crack, or gap you
can find inside and out. Then remove plug and switch covers and install foam gaskets on all of them. Put one
of the plastic safety plugs that you find in the Baby Proofing section of the home improvement store into every
receptacle that doesn’t have something plugged into it. If you are competent to work around electrical equipment
take off the cover of your electrical panel (if it is inside of the heated space of your house) and seal the
gap between the panel and the drywall. You can also take down lights (without disconnecting the wiring) and seal
around the wiring device box that they are mounted on. Also seal the holes in the boxes where the wires come in, and any other holes in the wiring box. Always
turn off the electricity before working around wiring. According to the Canadian Government “Simple Caulk and Seal” can save as much as 30% on your heat bill.

Hot Water

After heating and cooling your home, the water heater is the next biggest consumer of energy.

Reduce the temperature of your water heater to 120 degrees F.

Insulate your electric water heater with a water heater “blanket”.

Install a water heater timer and set it to turn the heater off during times of low demand such as over night
and during the work day. FYI, digital water heater timers are available that allow you to have a different schedule for weekends than during the work week. Just Google for “digital water heater timer.”

A common misconception is that a water heater works harder than normal to recover after the thermostat has been set back, resulting in little or no savings. This misconception has been dispelled by years of research and numerous studies. It is always best to put your water heating on a timer, as the energy lost from a hot water tank depends on the temperature difference between the surface of the tank and its surroundings. It’s a common myth that it somehow takes more energy to keep heating up a tank than it does to maintain it at a normal temperature.

Of course, as with all myths, there are a few “ifs” and “buts”. If the tank is highly insulated (so standing losses are very low) and there is an effective thermostat on the tank, then the losses caused by leaving it on all the time can be much reduced. So insulating the tank is more important than installing a timer. And some people have a need for large quantities of hot water all day long, in which case they may have no alternative except to leaving the heater on. But in general, it is much better to install a timer. A water heater timer, will cost between $30 and $100 (according to features - digital timers are more expensive, but allow more flexibility than mechanical ones) and if you can install it yourself safely, could pay for itself in a few months and is an excellent investment. If you have to hire an electrician, then of course it will take longer to recoup your investment, but it still may be worthwhile. FYI, many home improvement stores will hook you up with professional installers for a reasonable firm price.

When you program your timer, you want to try to turn the water heater off and then use up as much hot water as possible so that as small amount as possible is left to slowly cool off and go to waste. For example if your routine is to always take a shower before going to work in the morning, then set the timer to turn off the water heater before you start your shower. In most cases you will still have plenty of hot water. Obviously, you want to do the same thing at night. If you can also run the dishwasher after your shower, then the strategy gets even better. Most modern dish washers will heat their own water if needed, so quality and safety will not be compromised.

Heating Ventilating and Air Conditioning - HVAC

Heating and cooling your home typically uses more energy than everything else put together, so
this is the place where the most improvement can usually be found.

Maintain your system. Clean or replace your air-conditioning filters once a month or as needed.
Clean baseboard heaters and radiators as needed. Make sure they are not blocked by furniture,
carpeting or drapes.

Lower your thermostat setting. The U.S. Department of
Energy estimates that you can save up to $40 for every degree (Fahrenheit) you lower your thermostat
during the winter heating season. The same goes for reducing the load on your air conditioner in the
summer.

Lower the heat even more at night. Pile on the blankets instead.

Reduce heating and cooling drastically when you aren’t home. But always keep in mind that it is possible to cause dammage to your home by turning the climate control completely off for days or weeks at a time. So turn it down, not off.

Automate energy savings by installing a programmable thermostat.

Remember the fuel required to reheat a building to a comfortable temperature is roughly equal to the fuel saved as the building drops to the lower temperature. You save fuel between the time that the temperature stabilizes at the lower level and the next time heat is needed. So, the longer your house remains at the lower temperature,
the more energy you save. So Don’t be afraid to lower your thermostat when you won’t be home. However, if the weather will be very cold, or very hot and humid, then don’t turn the HVAC off, or you run the risk of frozen water pipes (or frozen aquarium fish, or house plants) or in hot humid weather mold could grow in a closed up, un-conditioned house.

Other Maintainance / Improvements

Insulate hot water pipes, especially if they pass through unconditioned areas.

Replace the drip pans under your stove eyes with nice shiny new ones. This will reflect more heat onto
whatever you are cooking.

Change incandescent bulbs to compact fluorescents. Fluorescent lights use only one-third the energy of
traditional lights and last up to 10 times longer. Compact fluorescents are now available in bulbs that look
just like the decorative round bulbs often found in bathroom fixtures, flood light bulbs, and also like regular light bulbs. So you don’t have to display the funny looking curlicue bulbs to take advantage of compact florescent technology.

Getting an energy survey done will allow you to apply your efforts in the most effective manor.
Your Electric Utility company should be able to help you arrange an energy survey, possibly even free of charge.

Get Some Professional Help:

Get an HVAC professional to check:

• Duct work for leaks, especially if they run through unheated areas like crawl spaces or attics
• Relays and equipment on baseboard and electric heating units.
• Air conditioner refrigerant levels.
• Thermostat operation.
• Compressor cycling in heat pump unit.
• Back up heat (in heat pumps) for proper function.

Have a professional inspection of your heating and air-conditioning system done every year. By the way, most people wait until the beginning of the heating or cooling seasons to have work done on their HVAC system, and the technicians are swamped at that time. So, do yourself and your heat and air man a favor and call them when the weather is mild in the spring and fall, or at least not right after the first cold or hot weather of the year.

Resources For additional information on how to achieve energy savings:

• Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
• Environmental Protection Agency’s Home Energy Saver
• U.S. Government Energy Star Site
• U.S. Department of Energy Web site
• Florida Solar Energy Center

After climate control, heating water uses more energy than anything else in your home. Lots of people are using on demand water heaters now in an attempt to reduce their high electric bills. Unfortunately on demand water heaters typically start at over $1000.00 and with the addition of gas and plumbing support the total installation can cost over $3000. BTW, if you don’t have access to natural gas at your address, then an on demand water heater isn’t a realistic option at all. An electric on demand water heater that is big enough to supply an average family draws so much current that it requires electric service similar to that of an entire modest home. The truth is that they just don’t make sense for everyone, and depending upon your usage patterns an on demand water heater may not even save any energy.

Here’s the good news. For $20-40 and an hour of your time you can improve the efficiency of your plain Jane tank type water heater to rival that of the most expensive models that are made. Where the efficiency of a tank type water heater suffers in comparison to an on demand is when it comes to keeping 40 or more gallons of water hot and ready to use all of the time. An on demand unit just doesn’t do it at all, it only heats water when you need it. So by adding an insulation blanket to your tank you can noticeably decrease the amount of energy that it takes to keep your water hot between uses.

It’s that easy. Now if you also add a 7 day digital timer you will have the most efficient tank type water heater known to man. And if your family keeps regular hours (leave and return home at the same time more or less) it may actually be better than an on demand water heater, and for a lot less.

Most of the ways that you can save energy at home can be divided into two categories: things that can be done (or not done) without spending any extra money (sometimes called lifestyle choices), and actions that require some financial investment, which are often referred to as energy efficiency measures. In some ways lifestyle changes are the hardest measures to implement, especially if you have teenagers in your home. Nonetheless, changing how we use energy can make a substantial difference in our consumption, and maybe more important it will change the way we think about conservation.

Heating and Cooling

In most homes regulating the temperature is the largest single energy expense

It is also most often

the main area where real savings can be made.

Dress appropriately for the season so that you can adjust your thermostat to save energy.

Adjust your thermostat higher in warm weather and lower in cool weather so your heating and cooling

systems don’t have to work so hard.

If you don’t have a programmable thermostat, then manually change the settings at night

and when leaving the house.

The sun is the most readily available source of heat there is - and the cheapest! So make the most of it in the heating season by opening internal doors of any rooms which get more sun than others and let the warm air travel through your home.

Shut the door. The biggest heating and cooling loses are from air infiltration, and leaving external doors open

will sure infiltrate a lot of air. Consider putting a closer on the most often used door to your house so

that it will close itself.

Keep draperies and shades on sunny windows open during the heating

season to allow sunlight in; close them at night and during the air conditioning season to reduce heat transfer.

Kitchen and Cooking

Don’t use the heavy wash settings on your dishwasher or clothes washing machine unless they are

really needed, instead scrape plates thoroughly and presoak clothes when possible. Your teenagers will be glad to hear that most modern dishwashers can handle dishes that have not been pre-rinsed. So to save hot water, don’t pre-rinse your dishes.

If you have a water heater timer, run your dishwasher as soon as possible after the timer turns the water heater off. That way you will use up the residual hot water instead of leaving it to slowly cool and go to waste. Only do this if you have a reasonably modern dishwasher that will bring cool water up to the proper temperature. Watch for this feature when shopping for a new appliance.

In the summer, cook outside whenever possible to avoid adding heat and humidity to the house. conversely,

in the winter, the heat and moisture that cooking produces is a big plus to your indoor environment

during cold weather. So fire up a mess of comfort food on a cold winter afternoon.

Keep your refrigerator and or freezer full. A full refrigerator will cost less to operate than an empty

one. Also, in the event of a power outage, frozen bottles of water that you have used to take up space will

help to keep the real contents from spoiling. Anyway, in the event of an emergency you can never have too much ice or bottled water.

Try to think before you open the refrigerator and get as much out (or in) at one time as possible. When

putting away groceries stage everything that goes into the fridge and then put them all away at one time.

Keeping your refrigerator or freezer neat and well organized will help to reduce the amount of time you

spend looking for ingredients.

When using the dishwasher, avoid using the heat dry cycle. Instead open the door and allow the dishes to air dry. In the summer time, wait a few minutes before opening the door to avoid dumping all that steam into the house. In the winter the hot moist air is a good thing. If you use a product like Jet Dry and load carefully, most of the water will drain right off without any need for additional heat drying.

When cooking, choose the right pan size for the food and the stove eye. Cut food into smaller pieces and put lids

on pans when possible as the food will then cook a lot quicker, and less energy will escape as steam. If you are defrosting food, or just warming things up, then microwave ovens are ideal as they use much less electricity than conventional ovens. Use the microwave whenever possible. For example potatoes baked in the microwave for 5 minutes are almost identical to ones that bake in the oven for an hour.

Regularly check the seals on your fridge/freezer to ensure no warm air is getting in - the seals should be tight enough to hold a piece of paper securely when closed.

Laundry

Efforts in the laundry room are mostly aimed at saving Hot Water. Water heating is the second largest

use of energy in the home, after climate control.

A cheap way to save on hot water all the time is to insulate your water heater.

Try to have full loads when using the washing machine.

Use the lowest possible temperature to wash, and always use a cold rinse. The Laundry detergents available

today are designed to do a good job in cold water. Another benefit is that your clothes will last longer if you

wash them in a cooler temperature.

If you have especially dirty of stained clothes, then spot treat them with one of the many fine products available

and/or presoak them.

When the time comes to shop for a new washing machine seriously consider an energy efficient front loader. I have

seen claims of up to %40 energy savings for these machines; Plus, they use less water which results in even more

savings, also they claim to do a better job in the spin cycle which means even more savings in the dryer.

Use a clothes line instead of the dryer for a 100% energy savings and fresh smelling laundry.

General Conservation Practices

Turn your water heater thermostat down to 120 degrees.

Turn off lights, TV sets, appliances, and other electricity users when not needed.

Change your Computer’s Energy Settings to save energy.

Clean light bulbs globes and shades.

(The cleaner the bulb, the brighter the light and the less tempted you will be to change to a higher wattage

or turn on a second light.)

Seriously reconsider your use of things like security lights, swimming pools, and hot tubs. If you have things

like this that consume energy continuously for months or even years at a time, but are only used occasionally,

you should consider the real long term costs involved. By the way, putting your swimming pool pump on a timer and only running it for 2-3 hours a day can very significantly lower your electric bill, without making any real compromise.

Take a shorter cooler shower. In the summer time when you are trying to keep your

home cool and dehumidified, a cooler shower will save energy in two ways, first it saves hot water,

and it releases less warm moist air into your house. Installing a trickler valve will

make it more convenient to turn the water flow off or down while you lather up or shave. Turning

the water off when you don’t need it could reduce the hot water used by 50% or more. Also, cooler water temperatures help to avoid over drying your skin.

Don’t run water continuously for activities like shaving, tooth brushing or rinsing dishes. Run the water

into the sink (or a cup) and use only what you really need.

Don’t leave kitchen or bathroom ventilation fans running any longer than needed. The conditioned air that they blow out has to be replaced by unconditioned outside air.

Whenever you have the occasion to shop for new appliances consider their energy efficiency,

and look for the energy star compliance logo.

The most wasteful appliances are the ones that you don’t really need. If you have an old refrigerator

out in the garage or basement just to keep a few drinks cold, consider getting rid of it altogether, or at least

replacing it with a new efficient compact (aka “dorm room”) model.

Call your Electric Company about discounts they may offer during off-peak hours, and try to cook and wash during those times

whenever possible.

Want to find out if your energy use is above average? If you have five minutes and your

energy bills are nearby, this government Web site can tell you: www.energystar.gov. Click on the “Home

Energy Analysis” link. You will be asked to enter information about your home’s age, square footage, number

of occupants and energy bill totals for a consecutive, 12-month period. If you don’t keep your bills, your

utility company can send you a 12-month summary.