Saving Energy and Money at Home

The first step in trying to save money is to look at the parts of your home that consume the most energy. A home energy audit will identify those areas and allow you to decide what and how much to cut. For more information on home energy audits, including free tools and calculators, visit www.energysavers.gov or www.natresnet.org.

Some things to look for:
• Check for open fireplace dampers.
• Make sure your appliances and heating and cooling systems are properly maintained.
• Study your lighting needs and use patterns, paying special attention to high use areas such as the family room, kitchen and outside lighting. Consider lighting controls such as occupancy sensors, dimmers, or timers to reduce energy usage.
• Replace standard light bulbs with fluorescent. (This is especially great in the summer time as fluorescent bulbs are much cooler than incandescent bulbs.

Ask yourself the following questions:
• How much money do you spend on energy?
• Where are your greatest energy losses?
• How long will it take for an investment in energy efficiency to pay for itself in cost in energy cost savings?
• How long do you plan to own your current home?
• What is your budget and how much time do you have to spend on maintenance and repair?

Easy low-cost and no-cost ways to save energy:
• Install a programmable thermostat to keep your house comfortably warm in the winter and comfortably cool in the summer.
• Use fluorescent light bulbs.
• Air dry dishes instead of using your dishwasher’s drying cycle.
• Turn off your computer and monitor when not in use.
• Plug home electronics such as TVs and DVD players into power strips; turn the power strips off when the equipment is not in use. (TVs and DVD players in standby mode still use several watts of power0.
• Take short showers instead of baths.
• Wash only full loads of dishes and clothes.
• Visit www.energysavers.gov for more energy saving ideas.