Appropriate insulation for your climate (based on R-values) can increase your comfort and reduce your heating and cooling costs up to 30 percent. Start with attic insulation, followed by exterior and basement walls, floors, and crawl spaces.
Find and plug those leaks. Just wet your fingertips and run them around the door or window frame to feel a draft-or hold up a tissue and see if it waves. Seal leaks between moving parts (between door and its frame) with weatherstripping. Fill leaks between nonmoving parts (between window frame and wall) with caulking.
Install storm windows or double-panned windows, preferably with low-E (emissivity) glass, if you only have single-paned windows. If you have older or leaky windows that you can't replace, comsider temporary fixes, such as plastic film kits that create the effect of an interior storm window.
When adding a programmable thermostat or replacing a furnace, air conditioner, or heat pump, look for the Energy Star. You can get additional information from the yellow EnergyGuide label to compare every model in a category, its capacity, and estimated yearly energy cost.
Energy Star qualified geothermal heat pumps use the constant temperature of the earth to efficiently transfer heat to the home in winter or cool air to the home in summer. They require adequate land and an added up front expenditure.
When adjusting the thermostat by hand, remember that the house will not warm up or cool down any faster if you crank up the thermostat past the desired temperature. Besides, it is easy to forget to turn it back down, which will waste energy dollars.
If you have a heat pump, dramatically turning up the heat by hand is costly because it may trigger the inefficient electric backup heater, eating up any savings from reducing the thermostat. (A programmable thermostat designed for heat pumps will gradually raise the heat without activating the backup heat.)
Clean or replace furnace and air conditioner filters once a month during heating/cooling season.
Replace all light fixtures and bulbs that operate four or more hours a day with ones that use fluorescent bulbs to save money and energy. Use lumens (amount of light produced) to compare lights. For example, a 23-watt fluorescent bulb produces about the same number of lumens as a 100-watt incandescent. Your investment will generally pay for itself in a couple of years.
Shopping for a major appliance before it breaks down gives you the best chance to find a higher efficiency model with the features you want. The typical refrigerator sold in 2002 has more features yet uses less than half electricity of a comparable model sold in 1980. Choose appliances with the Energy Star to ensure greatest efficiency.
Buy a new fridge that is the right size for your needs to avoid wasting energy cooling nothing.
Use a microwave or toaster oven to cook small portions and a conventional oven or stove-top for larger items.
Putting a lid on a pan reduces cooking time and energy use. Also, match the pot size to burner size to avoid energy waste.
Activate your "sleep" feature on Energy Star qualified home office equipment (PC, fax, printer, scanner)-so that it automatically powers down when not in use to save up to $70 annually in electricity bills and improve product longevity.
Turning off your computer during long periods of non-use cuts and improves longevity.
Look for new homes with the Energy Star. They are certified to use at least 30 percent less energy than required by the national Model Energy Code and typically feature high-perforance windows, advanced insulation and sealing, and high-efficiency applisnces and heating/cooling systems. (Energy Star homes www.energystar.gov)
Obtain a home energy rating to determine a home's relative energy efficiency prior to purchasing to see what upgrades would have the greatest payoff. The cost can sometimes be financed as part of an energy-efficient mortgage. Some energy companies will do this free of charge - Minnesota Power does.
If you are refinancing your home, consider wrapping in energy home improvments. Your interest may be tax deductible. Some improvements, such as insulating, are also tax deductible in some cases.
Consider landscaping around the home. Planting evergreen trees on the north side and deciduous (leafy) trees on the south side of a home can block winter winds and summer sun.