Buying a home should be a long term investment that increases your wealth. To maximize your return on investment you should minimize the cost of operating your home. Americans spend billions of dollars each year on utility costs, which is a large part of the cost of operating their homes. The average house hold in the United States uses twice as much energy as a Western European house hold, with no increase in the standard of living. Chances are, with a little research and common sense as your guide, you can slash your energy bills without sacrificing comfort. Some of the changes you make won't cost you a penny, other small improvements offer great returns for the time and money you spend to realize them. The improvements outlined here are inexpensive and will help you cut the cost of operating your home, putting money back in your pocket.

Seal and Insulate Ducts
If your home uses a central heating and cooling system, then you have duct work that runs through your home. Leaky and uninsulated ductwork is a major source of energy waste in your home. Inspect the accessible ductwork for leaks. Typically, leaks will occur at the joints between sections of the ductwork. Look for gaps in the joints, and with the system running, use the back of your hand to sense of air leaking out. You can hire a HVAC professional to perform a blower test on your duct system if you feel the job is too big for you. Improperly installed or insulated duct systems can waste up to 40% of the energy invested in heating your home, so if you think your system is deficient, it's worth the effort to correct the problem.

Low Flow Showerheads
Installing low flow showerheads saves water and also the energy required to heat that water. Water heating typically accounts for about 15% of your home's energy bill. Low flow showerheads are an effective and inexpensive way of reducing those costs. Inspect you showerhead for its flow rate. It will typically be reported in gallons per minute (GPM). If you can't find the flow rate on the showerhead, you can easily measure it yourself. Anything less than 2 GPM is good, particularly if your current showerhead has a flow rate higher than 3 GPM.

Programmable Thermostat
Programmable thermostats generally cost between $50 and $100. They can save you a significant amount of money on both your heating and cooling costs (10-15%) by allowing you to vary you homes temperature with your daily routine. Set the thermostat so that you're not cooling or heating your home when you're gone for the day. Turn the heat down at night during the winter and up during the summer.

Insulate Water Heater and Hot Water Pipes
Whether you live in Boulder Colorado, Boulder City Nevada or anywhere else in the country -- how much energy wasted on hot water is always underestimated, and you'll be amazed at what simple steps can save you buckets of cash. Your water heater is designed to keep your hot water a set temperature and runs even when you're not actually using any hot water. You can minimize what are known as storage, or standby, losses by increasing the insulation on your water heater tank. Blankets, which are rated by their R value, come in a variety of types and thicknesses. Buy the one with the highest R value that you can find (R6 or higher). Next, buy some foam pipe insulation for the hot water lines that leave your water heater and go out into your home. Try to find insulation of R4 or higher. Also insulate the first 5 feet or so of the cold water input line. This line will heat up a little water isn't flowing into the tank. The warmer the input water, the less your heater has to work to bring the water up to temperature.

Install Ceiling Fans
Ceiling fans are a great way to keep cool during the summer. They are generally inexpensive and, if you?re a do-it-yourself type, are pretty easy to install. They can cost as little as $0.30 per month to run for 8 hours a day, and allow you to set your thermostat a little higher during the summer, which can lower your air conditioning costs. In the shoulder seasons you may find that you don't need to run your AC at all, reducing your costs further.