Energy Saving Tips For Department of Energy (DOE)

According to the United State DOE, energy-efficient improvements on average lower heating bills by almost 35 percent, and you can gain a threefold return on your money invested in lowering bills. DOE has recently released these tips to help families lower their energy consumption and electricity bills this winter:

- Insulate and seal your home. Most insulating projects are not that expensive and they tend to be easy enough for the average homeowner to complete. Adding more insulation, filling air furnace leaks, and also sealing off exposed ducts can sharply lower heating, cooling bills, and electricity bills.

- Perform routine maintenance and replace your home's air filter every month. If need be, hire a contractor to manage this and show you how to tune-up your heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) unit once a year. Regular maintenance on this equipment will reduce immediate costs and also help the units last longer.

- Install a programmable thermostat. A programmable thermostat will automatically keep your house or apartment at a lower temperature when you are not home, or at nighttime, thus helping to lower your energy bills.

- Conserve hot water. An easy way how to do this is air-dry dishes instead of running your dishwasher's heat cycle, wash only full loads of dishes and clothes, take shorter showers instead of baths. Saving water saves substantial money on the energy needed to heat it. Be sure turn down the thermostat on your water heater to 120 degrees F.

- Look for ENERGY STAR appliances. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the DOE worked together to create the ENERGY STAR program, which evaluates home products and buildings for energy efficiency. ENERGY STAR products will always meet strict guidelines and they can help save money on your electric bills. For example, if every homeowner installed just five ENERGY STAR light bulbs, America would save over $8 billion a year in energy costs.

- Save from your electronics. Turn off computers and monitors when not in use. Plug TVs and DVDs into power strips, then you can turn off the power strips when the home electronics are not in use.