A general question that gets asked more often than you think is “because of the recent crappy credit market (and weak economic climate) what will happen to my energy bills? Will they increase?”
The answer, unfortunately, is a sound “I don’t know.” Givent he current market conditions, and weak economic forecast with signs of continued slowdowns, energy prices may continue to actually fall depending on the market volatility. This is welcome news for consumers, as their bills may actually be lower.
However, this is typically not the case. During times of economic …

This is a lazy man’s dream. Having the lights turn on and off with no effort or action on your part to me is absolutely amazing, and perfect.
Place commonly used lights, like lamps in the living room, on simple timers. You can program them to turn on automatically at a certain time, and more importantly turn off at a designated time. There is no more forgetting to turn off the lights at night.
Plus there is the added security bonus of giving the illusion that you are home when …

This is kind of a double edge sword.
You can save on heating costs if you spend a lot of time, say, in the living room and you already took steps to plug energy holes you found. Like I said previously, its impossible to get every hole or energy shortcoming.
The thing to be wary about is the power consumption. Some can consume as much as 2000 Watts of power!
So here’s the trade off – more heat from the small electric unit means you might spend less on your gas …

Cost: $60 – $200
Estimated Effort: 30 minutes
Approximate Savings: 10% – 15% or more
Installing a “smart” thermostat is not hard at all, and typically takes less than 30 minutes to accomplish, even for novice users.
When buying your new thermostat, just remember – you get what you pay for. If you want more features, like the ability to program based on day, you will pay more. Likewise if you want an Energy Star model. My advice to get one that’s within your budget with features you need right now, but go …

Wait until night or evening (or on a cool day) to do chores or activities that generate heat.
Any additional heat you generate will just make the A/C work harder and longer.
Such activities include:

Baking or using the oven
Washing Dishes / Running Dishwasher
Laundry

Here’s a sad fact: when many Americans move or change homes, they often expect a change in their energy bills. Most of the time, they expect that moving into a better home means their energy bills would decrease by an incredible margin. This is simply not the case.
In fact, many people’s high energy bills follow them from home to home, despite have energy star appliances and better insulation.
Why?
People don’t realize that their energy habits can account for as much as 50% of wasted energy. That means 50% of the “overage” …

Here’s a little secret for those of you who may be looking for a home and are energy conscious. Newer, high efficiency furnaces do not have an exhaust pipe that rises vertically (up through the roof of the house). The exhaust is actually sent out usually through a PVC pipe at an angle towards a side of the house. It may rise up from there, but it never goes straight up from the furnace like older, inefficient units.

Whether you are planning to live “off the grid” and free yourself from energy bills or just “kick back” and enjoy lower energy bills, the first step is always to understand your home’s energy usage and employ good old fashioned energy conservation techniques.
The reason for this is simple – you can not be charged for what you don’t use (in terms of energy…well this is strictly untrue if you are on a utility company’s budget payment system…but we’ll pretend for a moment that is not the case.) So, if you …

Here’s an easy trap to fall into: You know your heating bills are high. So you’re sitting at home one chilly day with a warm coffee or tea, and you see a commercial for a local contracting company. Their message? High efficiency furnaces will end your misery! That’s right, call them for a no obligation quote on a new furnace and your heating bills will go down, you will be more comfortable, and your home will be safer.
It doesn’t have to be furnaces they’re selling either. Insulation services, building additions, …

Keep in mind that every single thing that gets plugged in uses energy. In fact, many use energy even when they are not “turned on”. For example, VCRs and many electronics such as TVs and cable boxes still use energy even though they are turned off. Additionally, computers in “power save” mode are still using power, albeit a lower amount
So how much electricity do common appliances use? Let’s find out:

Ceiling fan: 60 watts
Furnace fan: 400 watts
Heat pump: 5000 watts
Central AC: 6000 watts
Window AC 1300 watts
Fluorescent lamp: 20 watts
Flood light: 150 …