Lower Your Home Energy Bills Right Now

Investing the time to make a few phone calls or do a little online research can put you on a path to savings. Here’s how:

Schedule an energy audit to find pricey problem areas. Drafty attics, leaky door frames, and inefficient heating systems can add up to a lot of wasted energy, but they’re not always easy to identify on your own. That’s where an inspection by a certified energy auditor comes in. They can help you triage energy-saving improvements in your home, from inexpensive moves such as caulking windows to bigger jobs like upgrading your insulation. 

Many utilities and nonprofits provide these services for free. Rhode Island Energy, for instance, offers a free in-home audit to eligible customers. In Iowa, the federally sponsored Green Iowa AmeriCorps does the same for state residents.

When it comes to saving energy, small moves can add up. What’s more, the cost of many energy-efficiency improvements, large and small, are eligible for state tax credits and utility rebate programs. (Here’s a helpful database of energy-efficiency incentives, searchable by state, from North Carolina State University.)

Switch to LED lightbulbs. Energy-efficient LEDs use 90 percent less energy than traditional bulbs. But according to the EIA, only one-third of U.S. households use all or mostly all LED lights indoors.  If you still have traditional bulbs around your home, swapping them out is a bright idea. 

You have options: The vast majority of bulbs on the market are now LED, and you can get attractive LED bulbs for specialty fixtures, too. A few years ago, Robin Saidov of Weston, Conn., replaced 50 incandescent bulbs in her home–and the family saved $100 a month on electricity, breaking even before the end of the year. “The lights in my kitchen are on 11 hours a day, and replacing those six bulbs alone accounts for about $30 in savings,” she says. 

Plug up air leaks. A significant portion of a home’s heating and cooling energy is lost through holes and gaps you might barely notice. By applying caulk or sealant to gaps around baseboards, windows, and doors, and adding more insulation, you can trim about 11 percent off your total energy expenses, according to government estimates. Several years ago, Seamus Nally of Fort Collins, Colo., spent less than $100 on weather-stripping windows and around $2,000 adding insulation to his attic–and broke even on that investment in about 30 months. “I notice the biggest difference in my savings during cold months,” he says.

Recharge your batteries. Rechargeable batteries can easily cost twice as much as single-use batteries but can be recharged and reused hundreds of times. Use rechargeables in battery-gobbling devices like game controllers and toys. 

Install a smart thermostat. A smart thermostat lets you adjust your home’s temperature right from your smartphone, making it easier to reduce heating and cooling costs. You can adjust a smart thermostat even when you’re away from home, setting hours for your heating or air conditioning to run. Some models use motion sensors and smartphone location data to tell whether you’re home, and they can even learn your preferences over time. An Energy Star-certified model can lower your heating and cooling bills by an average of 8 percent. 

Considering a smart thermostat? Here are two options in different price ranges.

In the summer, about three-quarters of the sunlight that enters your home through standard double-pane windows gets trapped as heat, driving up your cooling bills. During the chilliest months, heat leaves in the opposite direction. About 30 percent of a home’s heat loss occurs through the windows in winter, according to the Department of Energy. Ultra-efficient, Energy Star-certified windows can reduce your annual energy costs by up to 15 percent, but they’re pricey–and typically not an option if you rent. Instead, try these fixes:

Apply easy-to-install solar film to your windowpanes. Easy-to-use solar films are particularly effective on east- and west-facing windows to screen out the sun’s rays without disrupting your view. Plus, they can help prevent your furniture, fabrics, and artwork from fading. To add warmth in the winter, you can use an inexpensive window installation kit.

Add high-efficiency cellular shades. These "honeycomb" window shades can reduce cooling costs when used consistently, while helping maintain a more comfortable indoor temperature. Find efficient shades through the Attachments Energy Rating Council.

Draw the drapes on hot days. You can reduce the heat from the sun that enters your home by up to a third, the DOE says. To get that level of benefit, though, you’ll need to use medium-colored curtains backed with white plastic.

Do you really need to heat up your whole oven to reheat some fries? Is it hot enough to require air conditioning, or will a light breeze keep you comfortable? Keeping track of your energy use and swapping in devices that use less could help cut your monthly bill down to size.

Keep an eye on your actual usage. Many of us are in the dark about how much energy our most-used devices eat up. Smartplugs, which can cost as little as $20, act as personal electricity usage monitors and provide data on which devices draw the most power, like space heaters and video game consoles. Simply plug the monitor into a standard 120-volt outlet and the appliance into the monitor. If the information helps you shift your behavior and reduce your electricity consumption, you will quickly break even on the investment.

Lower the setting on your water heater. Older water heaters were commonly set to a wasteful 140° F. Spare yourself from scalding temps and save substantially on energy by setting the machine to the DOE’s recommended 120° F instead. 

Reduce heating costs with your ceiling fan. You probably know that running a ceiling fan counterclockwise can cool a room with just a fraction of the energy required by an air conditioner. But don’t stop using it when the days turn cooler. Just reverse the direction so that the blades turn clockwise to recirculate warm air trapped near the ceiling. If you’re considering installing a ceiling fan, here are some top-rated models from CR’s tests.