Ten Easy Ways to Save Energy in your Home

High-performance home technologies:
Solar thermal and photovoltaic systems,
US DOE (pdf-outside link)

Tips & Cost-Saving Programs:
Energy Efficiency Programs, Rocky Mt Power
ThermWise, Questar Gas
PowerForward, conservation alert system
Save Energy at Home, US DOE
Utah Energy Conservation Coalition
Energy Star
Energy Star TV's
Energy Star Appliances

1. Replace incandescent lamps with compact fluorescent. Compact fluorescent lamps use 75 percent less energy and last 6 to 10 times longer.

2. Turn off lights whenever you leave the room for more than two minutes.

3. Use the microwave oven or toaster oven instead of the oven to prepare meals. These only use about half the energy. When using the oven or stove, turn off the heating element a few minutes before the food is finished cooking. The residual heat will finish cooking the food without using energy. Avoid opening the oven door to check on food, use the light instead.

4. Weatherize your home. Calk, seal, and weather-strip all seams, cracks, and openings to the outside. You can save 10 percent or more on your energy bill by reducing the air leaks in your home. Also seal off outlets on outside walls by using an outlet sealer.

5. Set your thermostat as low as is comfortable in the winter and as high as is comfortable in the summer. You can save as much as 10 percent a year on your heating and cooling bills by simply turning your thermostat back 10% to 15% for 8 hours. You can do this automatically without sacrificing comfort by installing a programmable thermostat.
   
   Opening south facing windows on a sunny day in the winter season is a good way to naturally warm your home. In the summer season close the blinds to keep the home cool. Replace furnace filters often.

6. Let your dishes air dry when using the dishwasher. The biggest expense of using a dishwasher is the heat dry. Run the dishwasher only when full.

7. Keep your fireplace damper closed unless a fire is going. An open damper will allow warm air to go right up the chimney. If you never use your fireplace, plug and seal the chimney flue.

8. Wash and dry full loads of laundry. Clean the lint filter in the dryer after every load to improve air circulation. The cost of drying a typical load of laundry in an electric dryer is 30 to 40 cents and 15 to 25 cents in a gas dryer.

9. Landscaping is a natural way to reduce energy costs. Carefully positioned trees can save up to 25% of a typical household's energy used for heating and cooling. Planting shade trees that loose their leaves in the winter on the southwest side of a home can provide natural cooling in the summer and will allow the winter sun to naturally warm your home. You can create a natural windbreak on the north side of your home by planting pine trees.

10. Idle appliances like computers, TVs, VCRs, CD and DVD players, cassette decks, cordless phones, burglar alarms, and microwaves continue to consume energy when switched off. These energy "leaks" account for 5 percent of total domestic energy consumption.
    
    Unplug unnecessary appliances and electronic equipment to keep this "phantom draw" to a minimum. Home computer use is the fastest growing electric load in the world. Turning off your computer during long periods of nonuse cuts costs and improves longevity.