With the current economic climate and souring energy cost, I think every homeowner can benefit from shaving some bucks off of their monthly utility budget. The U.S. Department of Energy has recently stated that the average energy bill for the typical one family home is in excess of $1,600 annually. Thankfully that number can be knocked down significantly by taking a few steps to make your home more energy efficient.

The first step is to conduct an audit of sorts on your energy usage. Home energy experts from industry leaders say that the best place to begin is to identify potential areas of energy waste.

Much of the money that is spent on utilities bills comes from older electricity guzzling appliances that are not Energy Star complaint, poor insulation, holes in the exterior, leaks, etc. The best strategy for defending your wallet against these culprits is to focus on the five key rooms in your home: the laundry room, kitchen, bathroom, utility room, and the living room. These rooms tend to contain the most appliances or receive the heaviest traffic. A few simply changes like switching over to a programmable thermostat rather than a fixed dial to automatically control the interior temperature and washing clothes in cold water instead of hot if it is not absolutely necessary can save you upwards of five hundred dollars a year on your utility bill.

In the bathroom try changing your shower head over to a low-flow two and a half gallon per minute shower head. Combine the shower head with ten to fifteen minute showers and you could save an estimated $140 dollars annually just from the electricity saved on heating that water. The same goes for the laundry room, you really don’t’ have to wash everything in hot water. There are special detergents formulated to work well and cold water and produce the same results.
Leaky faucets in the kitchen can also cause wasted hot water so insure that all plumbing is in optimal condition. Also check the dial on your water heater, if its above 120 degrees your burning yourself and the environment!

In the living room and other heavy traffic areas consider changing standard light bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs. Not only do they uses less energy but on average they also last ten times longer.
It doesn’t take much to become an Energy Star, a little effort and consideration can save ton for you and the environment.