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Step 1
Replace your old, incandescent light bulbs with energy efficient, compact, fluorescent bulbs. These bulbs cost a little more to purchase, but they can put out just as much light as the others, all the while using much less electricity. If you replace all the bulbs in your house with these, you will see a cost savings every month, guaranteed. Think about the long haul, not the initial expense.
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Step 2
Try installing dimmer switches instead of the regular "on/off" light switches. Oftentimes, you can get by with a a lot less light in a room than normal. In fact, sometimes it's desirable, is it not? Just remember, if you're also using compact, fluorescent bulbs, make sure the package says that they will work with a dimmer switch. Not all of them do.
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Step 3
In winter, put plastic over basement windows, or any other windows that aren't used much. This simple, cost-saving measure will definitely lower your heating bill, especially the more colder the climate is that you live in. More money in your pocket on a monthly basis is always a good thing.
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Step 4
If you don't have ceiling fans in your house, install them, especially if you have vaulted ceilings. Especially in winter, the warm air will congregate up high, causing your furnace to run more than necessary to heat the air below it. If you run ceiling fans, you will help to circulate that air and distribute it evenly. Your heating bill will go down, and you won't have to worry as much about uneven temperature zones in your house, which many people have.
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Step 5
Check your exterior doors for any sort of drafts coming into the house. You can remedy this by installing some adhesive weather stripping from the hardware store. Place it between the door and frame wherever you feel the air coming in.
Special strips are available to place along the bottom of the door that are a little bulkier, as they have to drag against the bottom plate of the doorway. They help cut down on drafts quite a bit. If you don't want to install one, you can always put a "door snake" on the floor in front of the door. Not as energy efficient, but a stuffed, cloth tube will still cut down on some of the draftiness! -
Step 6
If your house has an attached garage, make sure it has some level of insulation in it. At attached garage that is unfinished, with no insulation, will affect your heating bill (and your air conditioning bill in the summer). At the minimum, purchase some roll-out sheets of insulation and fit them between the wall studs. This will keep your cars warmer in the winter, too!
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Step 7
Speaking of insulation, check your attic. Depending upon the age of your house, you may find old, inadequate insulation. If you find a bunch of old newspapers up there, you've got a problem! Roll out, or spray in, some new insulation and give yourself a fighting chance!
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Step 8
Update your appliances. Older appliances (washer, dryer, refrigerator, etc.) use much more energy to do the same amount of work as the newer ones do. The same goes for hot water heaters.
