What are your New Year's Resolutions? It's that time again to make your list and decide how January 1st will be the day you start your new and improved life! [end the infomercial voiceover] In all seriousness, it seems that most New Year's Resolutions are abandoned sometime around mid-February, in spite of our best intentions. But it doesn't have to be that way. I know and you know that your resolutions are important, as shown by USA.gov's list of popular New Year's resolutions. My guess is that one of the most popular resolutions this year will be to save money. If saving money is one of your resolutions, have you considered working energy into your savings plans? If not, you should! A few simple strategies can help you stay on track to save energy all year long. One great way to set goals that stick is to make them SMART: SpecificMeasurableAttainableRelevantTimely Here's how you might set SMART goals to save energy: SpecificThink about exactly how you want to save energy. ... [More]

Did you know that you can save around 10% a year on your heating and cooling bills by simply turning your thermostat back 10°–15°F for eight hours? Sounds great, but I know when I'm rushing out the door, the last thing on my mind is turning down the thermostat. Luckily, programmable thermostats make it easy to save without much effort. In fact, once you get the thermostat installed and programmed to your schedule, you can stop thinking about it; your home is programmed to save. First, decide what to set your thermostat at when you are home and awake; 68°F is a good guideline in the winter. From there, program the thermostat to set back 10°-15°F during the times you are normally out of the house and sleeping. You can even program it to set back a bit before your normal bedtime (especially if, like me, you rarely sleep for eight hours!); you likely won't even notice the house cooling off. ENERGY STAR® programmable thermostats are pre-programme... [More]

On Tuesday, Elizabeth wrote about some resources to help you learn more using renewable energy at home. Do you use renewable energy in your home? Tell us about it! If you would like to use renewable energy in the future, share your plans. Each Thursday, you have the chance to share your thoughts on a question about energy efficiency or renewable energy for consumers. Please comment with your answers, and also feel free to respond to other comments.

Have you ever thought about installing wind or solar energy on your property? Are you curious about what sort of results you could get if you did? Then you might be interested in trying out the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's In My Backyard tool. In My Backyard uses Google Maps and the laboratory's renewable resource databases to estimate how much energy you could produce from wind or solar energy at your location. All you have to do is plug in your address, use the "draw" tool to select where you would construct wind or solar, and plug in a few details about the installation you want. The tool will then estimate how much power you could make throughout the year. There are a few drawbacks, of course. For one, it only has wind information for 30 states. Otherwise, an estimate is just that—for more specific information about how much energy you can get from installations on your property, you should consult a professional in your area. But if you're interested in ... [More]

Did you know that you can save energy in the winter by setting the thermostat to 68°F while you're awake and setting it lower while you're asleep or away from home? By turning your thermostat back 10°–15° for 8 hours, you can save about 5%–15% a year on your heating bill—a savings of as much as 1% for each degree if the setback period is eight hours long. At what temperature do you set your thermostat when you are home and awake in the winter? How about when you're asleep or away? Each Thursday, you have the chance to share your thoughts on a question about energy efficiency or renewable energy for consumers. Please comment with your answers, and also feel free to respond to other comments.

Do you look at your retirement savings statements and feel like you're sending your money down the drain? Do you deposit more money each paycheck into your retirement account, but find the balance goes down, not up? Pssst, want to invest in a "sure thing?" No, this isn't a scam. It's a device that has no moving parts to break down, but is certain to save you energy, and thus save you money by lowering your utility bills. When we all take showers and baths, wash the dishes or clothes, and wash our hands, we send heated water literally down the drain. That typically represents 80%–90% of the energy used to heat water in a home. Drain-water (or greywater) heat recovery systems capture some of this energy to preheat cold water entering the water heater or going to other water fixtures. How It Works In its simplest form, a drain-water heat recovery (DHR) unit is simply a copper heat exchanger that replaces a vertical section of a main waste drain. As warm water flows down... [More]