There are many easy tips for saving energy in your home. The most obvious
are simple and easy to accomplish. They are familiar, but need to be used to
work!

1. Turn off unnecessary lights when you leave a room.
2. Lower your heat thermostat in winter, and raise the temperature settings
for air conditioning in summer.
3. Replace old light bulbs with new energy savers and LED bulbs.
4. Use weather stripping to cut off window and door drafts from outside, and
heat loss from inside.
5. Use proper window treatments, curtains, blinds, shades or shutters to
keep heat out in summer, and reduce need for air conditioning, and to allow
heat inside in winter. These also help control lighting and can save you
electrical costs.
6. Use energy saving water fixtures in the shower, toilet, and other faucet
areas.
7. Update or replace appliances with Energy Star appliances.
8. Close the refrigerator door tight, and keep it properly loaded for best
efficiency.
9. Use cold water for washing machines, and low heat for dryers.
10. Do regular maintenance on furnaces, air conditioners for best
efficiency.

Other tips for saving energy in your home are a little more complex. You
would want to be sure that items such as furnaces and air conditioners and
cleaners always have regular filter changes. Maintenance around the house
assures that everything will run at optimum efficiency.

Planning ahead can save you a lot of money with cooking and shopping. Cook
on the weekend and save or freeze items for use during the week to cut down
on time and energy. When you have the oven turned on, cook several items at
a time instead of one by one. Keep a jug of water in the refrigerator
instead of running the water faucet a long time for cold water.

Keep air conditioning use to a minimum; use fans, shade and window air
circulation when possible instead. Dress lighter in hot weather, dress
warmer in cold weather. Use power strips for turning electronics on and off
to circumvent the instant on features that constantly draw power.

You can save a lot of energy in your every day life if you plan ahead and
give it just a little thought. By thinking of ways to save energy, you will
develop that habit!