Launch: Conduct a home energy audit

The Department of Energy’s Home Energy Assessment is an excellent tool to evaluate your home for ways to save energy. Whether it’s by locating air leaks or tweaking settings on appliances, your holistic evaluation of your home’s energy usage can go a long way toward savings. Coming out of a home energy audit, you might consider some of Energy Sage’s energy conservation tips, such as replacing air filters, as well. Some actions may lead to minimal savings, but taken collectively, you might find yourself cutting down on a significant percentage of your energy consumption.

Launch: Purchase “smart” devices

A number of relatively inexpensive “smart” devices are on the market to help you save energy and dollars. Smart power strips have the ability to automatically cut off power to devices that have gone into dormant mode (and that would otherwise continue to use energy even when not in use). Smart thermostats have sensors that allow them to minimize energy based on whether you are home or not and can be controlled remotely from a smartphone app. Smart lights work similarly. All of these technologies are readily available in hardware stores and online. Some cities and states may even provide rebates for you to purchase them.

Launch: Identify weatherization needs

Things like gaps in drafty windows and doors and inadequate insulation can cause highly inefficient energy use. Often, simple DIY fixes, such as caulking up holes and wrapping up your water heater, can lead to significant energy savings. In some cases, you may need to pay for a professional to make deeper fixes; however often these actions can be taken by you. Freeport CAN’s list of weatherization actions provides a great list of places to start. Soon you’ll start to see the savings adding up. Image: Department of Energy

Launch: Install a heat pump

Heat pumps use the natural thermal energy of the earth, whether it’s from underground or from the air, to heat and cool your home. They have remarkable efficiency and typically use on average about 1/3 the amount of energy to operate as your typical furnace or boiler. Plus, they’re already outselling gas furnaces here in the US, so the technology has been widely adopted. Fortunately, you don’t need to live in a single family home to install one. Barring any restrictions from the landlord, apartment and condo dwellers can install window unit heat pumps.

Launch: Upgrade your lighting to LED

LED bulbs are far more efficient than traditional ones and at this point are not more expensive either. They will last longer and save you money on your energy bills over the long term. Other things you can do to reduce the amount of energy you consume is devoting certain periods of the day to keeping the lights off. Even just one hour per day spent near a sunny window with no lighting turned on can lead to savings in the long term. Being conscious about turning out the lights each time you leave a room can also make a difference long term. Combining all of these actions can make a significant dent in your lighting usage and energy consumption.

Launch: Identify local green energy plans

In some states, you will have the opportunity to pick your energy provider. Increasingly, providers are offering 100% renewable plans that source power from wind and solar rather than from fossil fuel plants. In most cases, these plans are quite similar in cost per kilowatt hour to the cost of fossil fuel based plans. By subscribing, you are helping to increase demand for renewable energy and shift the market toward zero-emission energy. While some may argue that your electricity is provided by your local grid, which also includes fossil fuel based energy, the fact that you are choosing the renewable plan is helping to shift demand toward cleaner energy.