Make a few easy changes around the house for substantial savings.
Seal sneaky leaks Seal electrical outlets in the exterior walls of your house. Foam insulating gaskets (less than $1 each) “act as a barrier so conditioned air stays in, rather than leaking out,” says Jonathan Passe of the Environmental Protection Agency. Just unscrew the outlet cover, install the gasket, and replace the cover. RealSimple.com: 8 legitimate Earth-friendly seals Go with the flow Install a high-performance showerhead. This uses 1 gallons of water per minute (gpm) rather than 2 gallons, the federal upper limit for new showerheads. By switching from a 2-gpm to a 1-gpm model ($20 and up), a family of four (each person taking daily 10-minute showers) could save about $88 a year on water and energy costs with gas water heating and $135 a year with electric, according to figures from the Department of Energy Federal Energy Management Program. RealSimple.com: 50 all-time favorite new uses for old things Swap out bulbs Replace incandescent bulbs with CFLs (compact fluorescent lightbulbs).
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A $10 CFL uses about a quarter of the wattage of an incandescent bulb, which amounts to more than $30 in savings per replaced bulb over the lifetime of the CFL (which averages 10,000 hours or 416 days). “If every household in the United States replaced one incandescent bulb with a CFL,” says Pablo Pster, a sustainability engineer based in San Francisco, California, “the energy savings would be the equivalent of shutting down one coal-fired power plant.” Be cool Wash clothes in cold water. You may already know that this saves energy, but do you know how much “Up to 90 percent of the cost of washing clothes comes from heating the water, so use hot water only for very dirty clothes,” says Adam Gottlieb of the California Energy Commission. Another tip: “Match the water level to the amount of clothes, or wait to wash full loads,” suggests Clement. “The water savings can be enormous.” RealSimple.com: How to save on green goods Close (or open) your blinds Leave blinds down on south-and west-facing windows on hot summer days to keep your space cool. “This prevents the sun from warming your home and making your cooling system work harder,” says Clement. “In winter, leave blinds up to allow the sun to help heat your home.” Upgrade your heating (and cooling) system Install (and properly program) a programmable thermostat. The average household spends $2,200 annually on energy bills, and about half of that is for heating and cooling, says Vargas. A programmable thermostat costs $50 to $80, is easy to install, and can save about $180 a year. You can shave 2 percent off your heating (or cooling) bill for each degree you lower (or raise) the thermostat for at least eight hours a day while you’re away from home or asleep, says Amanda Korane of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.
