Turn down the temperature on your water heater to the warm setting (120 degrees).
Use energy-saving settings on refrigerators, dishwashers, washing machines, and clothes dryers.
Check the age and condition of your major appliances, especially the refrigerator. You may want to replace it with a more energy-efficient model.
Clean or replace furnace, air-conditioner, and heat-pump filters.
This Week:
If your water heater is old enough that its insulation is fiberglass instead of foam, it clearly will benefit from a water heater blanket.
Caulk leaky windows.
Assess heating and cooling systems. Determine if replacements are justified, or whether you should retrofit them to make them work more efficiently.
This Month:
Inspect attic or crawl space for insulation. Is there any? How much?
Insulate hot water pipes and ducts wherever they run through unheated areas.
Seal up the largest air leaks in the house - the ones that whistle on windy days, or feel drafty. The worst culprits are usually utility cut-throughs for pipes (plumbing penetrations), gaps around the chimneys, recessed lights in insulated ceilings, and unfinished spaces behind cupboards and closets. All the little invisible cracks and holes may add up to as much as an open window or door.
Whenever you leave your home, adjust your thermostat to save heating energy in the winter and cooling energy in the summer. Install a programmable thermostat.
Schedule an energy audit through IREA.
This Year:
Insulate. If your walls aren't insulated, have an insulation contractor blow cellulose into the walls. Bring your attic insulation level up to snuff.
Replace aging, inefficient appliances. Even if the appliance has a few useful years left, replacing it with a top-efficiency model is generally a good investment.
Upgrade leaky windows. It may be time to replace them with energy-efficient models or to boost their efficiency with weather-stripping and storm windows.
Reduce your air conditioning costs by planting shade trees and shrubs around your house - especially on the west side.
— Adapted from Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings, 9th Ed., by Jennifer Thorne Amann, Alex Wilson, & Katie Ackerly
