You are probably aware of our country's dependence on fossil fuels to generate most of our electricity needs. You've probably also heard a lot about how America needs to wean itself from these sources of energy because of their implications for climate change, our ballooning trade deficit, and our national security. Buildings, including homes and apartments, account for 40% of this countries energy consumption and they spew out more carbon dioxide each year than cars and trucks! The average American household emits about 21,000 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) each year. This CO2 represents money leaving your wallet, money leaving this country, and reducing these emissions is an opportunity for you to essentially give yourself a raise while combating climate change, our trade deficit, and improving our country's security.

There are 3 basic steps that can take you from paying more for energy to less. They are conservation, energy efficiency, and renewable energy. They form a sort of pyramid and if you're serious about improving the environment while also improving your bottom line, you'll want to tackle your energy problems by first conserving energy, then becoming more energy efficient, and finally tapping renewable energy.

Conservation

Conservation should be the foundation that all of your efforts are built upon. Conservation is free and has immediate payback. The important thing to be aware of is your energy usage habits. Do you leave lights on unnecessarily? Do you take long showers or always wash your clothes in warm or hot water? Could you use your clothes dryer less? Modifying these bad habits can save you money starting today.

Have you learned about the energy saving features of appliances that you own? Check your washer, dryer, dishwasher and refrigerator. If you have a programmable thermostat, learn how to use it to optimize your home's heating and cooling systems. These appliances generally account for a large portion of your monthly energy bill, so tuning them to run more efficiently will save you money. Best of all, you can generally make the changes and forget out it. What could be easier than that!

If you do it right, conservation doesn't mean living in the dark. You shouldn't notice any decline in your standard of living. Conservation isn't about austerity, it's about not needlessly wasting energy and money. Take it as far as you and your family are willing to, but remember if you're not comfortable with the changes that you've made, they won't last.

Energy Efficiency Improvements

Once you've mastered conservation techniques, think about various appliances in your home that you might replace with higher efficiency models. You'll get the best return on investment (ROI) by replacing old, energy intensive appliances with their modern equivalents. The ones with the highest payoff ones are refrigerators, air conditioners, and furnaces.

Is your refrigerator more than 15 years old? If it is, you might consider replacing it. Older refrigerators use a lot of energy, often 3-4 times what a comparable, modern one would use. You can easily save $10 each month just by replacing your old one with a new, energy efficient model.

You heating and cooling systems can account for more than half of your energy bill. If you have uninsulated duct work in your house you could be losing up to 40% of the warm/cool air that you're paying for! Installing insulation is a relatively low cost solution that can dramatically reduce the amount you're spending to heat and cool your home. Improved duct work can have the added bonus of allowing you to downsize your heating and cooling systems when it's time to replace them. The more efficiently you deliver warm and cool air to your house, the less energy you need to use in the first place. Adding energy efficient windows and exterior insulation can really help with this too.

Lighting costs can be easily controlled by replacing inefficient incandescent and halogen lamps with considerably more efficient compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs). CFLs use less than a third the energy that these other bulb types consume and they last longer. They have the added advantage in the summer of not producing nearly as much heat, which translates into less stress on your air conditioner.

Tapping Renewable Energy

Now that you've slashed you home's energy requirements, you can think about adding renewable energy into your cost saving plans. The ROI on these systems is usually several years and will be dependent upon what energy prices do in the mid to long term. You can expect that these costs will generally increase. Relying on renewable energy to power your home will protect you from the wild price fluctuations that plague fossil fuels.

Because renewable energy is not yet cheap, it is imperative that you employ conservation and efficiency first. They are always cheaper than adding more renewable power generation. Consider renewables the crown jewels of your home's energy plan. By installing the smallest system that meets your needs you'll save a lot of money, and over the long term you will be able to liberate yourself from a significant portion of your energy bills. You'll also be modeling what being a responsible citizen is all about. What could be better than that?

This article provided courtesy of Joel's favorite Boulder real estate specialists, Automated Homefinder.