Save Energy and Lower Your Energy Bills

Similar to cruise control for the speed of a car, a thermostat allows you to keep the temperature steady in your house. But unless you're home 24/7, you don't really want it to stay steady. With a programmable thermostat, you can set the temperature lower while you're out during the day or at night while you're sleeping. Lowering your thermostat from 78 to 65 for 8 hours a day can save 10 percent on your heating bill. Lowering it two degrees around the clock can achieve even greater savings.

Dropping the room temperature in your house while positive can be an adjustment; especially, if you are easily impacted by temperature changes. To deal with the changes you have to pick up your heat from somewhere else - not another heater - by pulling on an extra layer of clothes to keep you toasty and on track with your energy saving goals.

Compact fluorescent light bulbs have come a long way in recent years, improving not only in efficiency but also in light quality. If you're still concerned about light quality, consider replacing at a minimum bulbs in general lighting areas like hallways, entryways, outdoor fixtures and accent lighting. You can save 75-80% on your electricity bills by using these as much as possible. Remember that they have a tiny amount of mercury in them, so handle and dispose with care.

CFLs cost quite a bit more than an incandescent bulb, however. Popular Mechanics has a stellar article, complete with chart, comparing the different brands in different settings from a lab test they did. Definitely worth checking out.

Once you've got the air in your house just the right temperature, you certainly don't want it escaping or air that's colder or warmer getting in instead. So you want check to make sure air stays where you want it. You can light a candle or incense or use a feather - run it around the openings where you want to check and look for flickering or waving. That's a sure sign air is moving in places where you don't want it to. You can also try slipping a dollar bill in between the edges of the windows or doors to see if it's time to start replacing the weatherstripping.

So where do you need to check? Anywhere things join together or come apart. This includes:

• Dropped ceilings


• Recessed lighting


• Attic entrance


• Sill plates


• Water and furnace flues


• Door frames


• Chimney flashing


• Window frames


• Electrical outlets and switches


• Plumbing and utilities


• All ducts - look for sections that have separated and for holes. Consider insulating the ducts.


• Crawl Spaces


• Base boards

Insulation keeps your home warm in the winter and cool in the summer. There are several common types of insulation - fiberglass (in both batt and blown forms), cellulose, rigid foam board, and spray foam. Increasing the amount of insulation in your attic, walls and floor can greatly decrease heat loss.

You can also insulate your walls by mixing a special insulating additive into your paint. Paint the wall and viola! Your walls get an extra level of insulation permanently to help keep the warmth in. There are at least two places to order the additive from - www.hytechsales.com and www.insuladd.com.

Keep in mind that you can also add insulation to the pipes to keep the water warm as it travels through and your ducts to keep air warm and cold.

Windows can be an expensive change, but they're one of the worst places for losing energy if you have old ones. Single-paned aluminum windows transfer heat and cold readily, making them prime prospects for replacement to improve efficiency. Energy efficient windows can reduce heating and cooling bills by as much as 15 percent. And, you might qualify for rebates from your utility company and tax breaks.

What to do if replacing old windows isn't in the budget just yet. Good drapes can also help with the windows if you can't or don't want to replace the windows just yet. Use them to keep warm air in at night and to let in the sun's warmth during the day. If your windows aren't double-insulated, tape clear plastic sheeting to the inside of your window frames. Do this if you can feel drafts, water condensation or frost. If leaky windows continue to be a problem, consider installing storm windows over single-pane windows or a storm door over a leaky front door.

Newer homes tend to have higher ceilings, which just means the heat your system creates can get farther away from you in the winter. (Unless you're Spiderman and can climb the walls to find the warmer spots!) Redirect the heat back down into the room with a ceiling fan. Most fans have a switch that reverses the direction of the blades to counter-clockwise, pushing warm air back down into the room. Just keep it on low to make sure the air stays warm!

Fireplaces - Keep the damper closed when it's not in use - just make sure to wait several hours after the fire dies. Don't use a ventilation fan while you've got your wood-burning fireplace on or you'll end up with smoke and soot throughout your house and you'll lose the heating benefits of the fireplace.

Furnaces - Regularly clean and replace your furnace air filters. Don't block your registers or returns.

Hot water heater - Set your hot water heater to 120 degrees, 140 degrees if you have a dishwasher without a heating unit. Turn it down at least 20 degrees if you leave the house for a few days. You can also insulate your hot water heater with a "blanket" or cover, which you can get at a home improvement or hardware store. You can also save on heating hot water by taking shorter showers, as showers can account for two-thirds of your water heating costs.

Energy star appliances can save money, but they're typically more expensive than buying cheaper appliances. Before you buy a new appliances, shop around and try to compare how much you'll save with the appliance versus how much you'll spend to buy the energy-saving model.

• Keep your refrigerator full. It'll operate more efficiently.


• Wash clothes in cold water. Cold-water washing can get all but extremely soiled laundry clean and save you around $60 yearly. Plus, it conserves your clothing as well, by limiting shrinkage, dye bleeding, and other types of fabric damage.


• Dishwasher - Use your dishwasher. Running a load of dishes saves more fuel than hand-washing as long as you don't rinse the dishes before putting them in (with new machines you won't need to). Run the machine only when it's full and turn off the "heat-dry" cycle. Set it to "air-dry" or just leave the door ajar.


• Don't turn off your computer, as long as you have a newer model that goes into sleep mode. Any energy savings is fairly negligible. Monitors take more energy than CPUs but dim themselves when not in use, and you can set them to sleep sooner rather than later to save more.