Anatomy of Your Home Energy Bill and How to Save from greenerchoices.org>
Home heating and cooling: 45 percent
In most households, heating and cooling account for the biggest single chunk of your energy bill. The good news is there are many ways to cut those costs.
Choose energy-efficient furnaces or air conditioners that are the right size for your home.
Properly insulate your home (especially the attic), including the duct system.
Contact your utility company for a free energy audit. If your utility company doesn’t offer free audits, try the do-it-yourself tool, from the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Programmable thermostats, insulated windows, and ceiling fans can also help lower your energy bill. A programmable thermostat, for instance, can cut heating and cooling costs as much as 20 percent when you use it to reduce the temperature 5 degrees at night and 10 degrees during the day when heating (or raise it an equal amount when cooling). Watch how we test programmable thermostats and get recommendations on choosing a thermostat (full report available to subscribers).
Hot water: 11 percent
Overall, water-heater technology hasn’t changed much in recent years. There are, however, (more…)
