Home Energy Efficiency Checklist

The following is a simple checklist of energy conservation measures to use at home.

Today

Turn down the temperature of your water heater to the warm setting (120F). You'll save energy and avoid scalding your hands.
Check if your water heater has an insulating blanket. An insulating blanket will pay for itself in one year or less!
Heating can account for almost half of the average family's winter energy bill. Make sure your furnace or heat pump receives professional maintenance each year. And look for the ENERGY STAR label when replacing your system.
Review additional strategies to reduce your water heating bills . Water heating can account for 14%-25% of the energy consumed in your home.
Survey your incandescent lights for opportunities to replace them with compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) or light-emitting diodes (LEDs). CFLs can save three-quarters of the electricity used by incandescents. The best targets are 60-100 W bulbs used several hours a day.
Turn off the lights in unoccupied rooms or consider installing timers, photo cells, or occupancy sensors to reduce the amount of time your lights are on.
Turn off your computer monitor when not in use for more than 20 minutes, and turn off both the CPU and monitor if you're not going to use your computer for more than 2 hours.
Unplug equipment that drains energy when not in use (i.e. cell phone chargers, fans, coffeemakers, desktop printers, radios, etc.).
Install a programmable thermostat that can be adjusted to temperatures according to your schedule. And look for the ENERGY STAR label when replacing your system.
During winter, open curtains on your south-facing windows during the day to allow sunlight to naturally heat your home, and close them at night to reduce the chill you may feel from cold windows.
Clean or replace filters in your furnace, air conditioner, and heat pump.
ENERGY STAR labeled products can cut your energy bills by up to 30%. Find retailers near you at http://www.energystar.gov/.

 

This Week

Visit the hardware store. Buy a water-heater blanket, low-flow showerheads, faucet aerators, and CFLs, as needed. If you can't find CFLs locally, check out ENERGY guide or Energy Federation Incorporated.
Rope caulk or add film to leaky windows.
Assess your heating and cooling systems. Determine if replacements are justified, or whether you should retrofit them to work more efficiently to provide the same comfort (or better) for less energy.

 

This Month

Collect your utility bills. Separate electricity and fuel bills. Target the largest energy consumer or the largest bill for energy conservation measures.
Insulate your hot water pipes to prevent heat loss.
Insulate heating ducts in unheated areas, such as attics and crawlspaces. Keeping ducts in good repair can prevent heat loss of up to 60% at the registers.
Seal up the largest air leaks in your house. The ones that whistle on windy days, or feel drafty. The worst culprits are usually not windows and doors, but utility cut-throughs for pipes ("plumbing penetrations"), gaps around chimneys and recessed lights in insulated ceilings.