There are quite a few ways you can save energy in your home. Lighting, climate control, water, and electronic use all play a part in your home’s energy usage. Changing these sectors of energy even slightly can have an impact on your monthly energy bill. Even changing the way you drive your car affects your monthly energy expenses. We’ll explore several of these energy sectors and show you how to get the most out of your energy.

• Lights
  • Turning off lights any time you leave a room is a good practice, especially when you have incandescent, halogen, or LED bulbs. These lights are instant on and off, so as soon as you flip the switch they come on. CFLs need a warmup time to reach full brightness, and if you will be turning the light back on within 15 minutes, leave it on. Constant cycling of these bulbs also reduces their longevity.
  • Incandescent bulbs are very inefficient. Halogens are a little better, but CFLs and LEDs are the most efficient, about 80% better than incandescents.
• Electronics
  • With computers, turn off the monitor if you will be away from the computer for more than 20 minutes. Turn off the whole computer if you will be away from it for more than 2 hours.
  • Screensavers don’t reduce energy usage, they only prevent burn-in on your screen (leaving an image on the screen, even when you change the image). Turning your monitor off or putting it in a sleep mode is the only way to save energy.
  • Unplug electronic devices and plugs like DVD players, game systems, laptop chargers, phone chargers, and tablet chargers. These constantly drain power even if the device is off or disconnected from its charger.