With the economy struggling for recovery, ways to save energy and every dollar we pay in utility costs is a good thing.

 As you know it's tough out there right now, with utilities and gas going higher and higher we all need to see where we can save by doing certain things that save money and energy and create better efficiency for you and the environment.

When trying to find ways to save energy at home each small effort may only result a small amounts of savings, but Experts say with enough of these small steps in savings and a few small investments the energy and money savings can really start adding up.

·    Ways to save energy comes in many different forms and sometimes the big picture can be overwhelming.

Remember that there is a difference between energy conservation and energy efficiency

Conserving energy: is the change in behavior (bad habits) that will result in using less energy
Energy efficiency: is the use of technology to control and use less energy for the same performance or function from energy consuming products.

By taking these small steps and changing some of our bad habits that we have been unconsciously doing for many years, the savings to all of us will reflect in our economy recovering quickly as well as   our personal savings and well being becoming stronger by the day.

We must start by taking one step at a time.

If you are on a budget pick steps that will only cost you your time.

 In your home, look at ways to cut down your energy bills by learning good conservation habits.

 Changing the thermostat settings is a great first step to start to save energy & money.
By reducing temperature to 63 in the winter or increasing temperature to 78 in the summer you can save up to 10% on your energy bills.

Other steps to take with out spending money.

·    Turning of lighting when no one is using the room.
·    Turn of the front porch light during the day.
·    Unplugging phantom power consuming appliances, computers, TVs, games ECT.
·    Turning down the hot water heater by 20 degrees.
·     When appropriate Heating or cooling one room of the home.

·    During the day time, keeping window blinds open in the winter to increase passive solar    heating and closed in the summer to reduce solar heating to reduce your cooling bills. This can substantially reduce your heating and cooling bills.

·    If you have a fire place make sure that the damper is closed when not in use.
·    Keep ceiling fans operational and use them to keep the air moving around the home.

Small investments that can add even more energy savings to help your home become more energy efficient.

Not everyone has an energy expert to walk through and give you home energy tips so picking up an electricity usage monitor, such as "Kill a Watt", could help find what's using the most energy in your home.

·    Big heating or cooling energy losses can come from drafts in your doors and windows.   Sealing up all leaks around your home is a quick do-it yourself project that will pay for it self quickly and save you big on your utility bills.

·    Forgetting to reset the thermostat is a big energy consuming problem. Purchasing a programmable thermostat can have a big effect on reducing your energy bills.

·    Five percent of all energy consumption (phantom energy) in our homes is used by many devices we have in our homes.  (Computers, printers fax machines, TVs. Gaming consoles, DVD players, VCRs, ECT.)  Purchasing a smart strip can help you control this phantom energy consumption .when you turn off a primary device, all of the connected devices will be shut down. These smart strips will pay for themselves very quickly helping reduce your utility bills.

·    Installation of Compact florescent lighting can greatly reduce your utility bills, although they cost more initially they use 75% less energy than incandescent bulbs and will last up to 10 times longer. Be prudent with this purchase also as you needs to be smarter with the use of CFLs. They require proper disposal when they burn out. RECYCLE THEM PROPERLY
 
Remember that all of the above ways to save energy with small steps can add up to big savings!!

We all use energy continually in our daily lives.

For more information many other ways to save energy go to this website.