Many of our readers have commented on changes, both large and small, that they've made to improve the comfort and energy efficiency of their homes. The changes that will make the greatest difference can vary depending on your location, the age of your home, and the improvements needed, but tell us: What change have you made that has made the greatest difference in improving the comfort and efficiency of your home? 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.

Perhaps I'm showing my age, but it seems it wasn't long ago that a 27" screen TV was considered large. Now, with ever larger Plasma and LCD thin televisions coming to market, the old 19", 20", and 27" models are downright tiny. As the screen size increases, however, so too at times does the energy consumption. This has not gone unnoticed by utility companies, energy specialists, and governments, who have become alarmed by the increasing electricity usage due to "electricity guzzling" television sets. According to the U.S. EPA, there are about 275 million TVs currently in use in the United States, consuming 4% of all household electricity use—enough electricity to power all the homes in the state of New York for an entire year. As you probably know, current plans call for full-power broadcast television stations in the United States to stop broadcasting on analog airwaves and begin broadcasting only in digital beginning in mid-February 2009. Those with older analog te... [More]

On Tuesday, Elizabeth wrote about taking a whole-house approach to energy efficiency. When you take a whole-house approach, you consider all of the characteristics and components of your home, including your lifestyle, your building site, your climate, and the other elements or features of your home. As Elizabeth said, there is no magic bullet, and thinking about the interaction between all the components of your house can help you save in the long run. And for most people, improving the efficiency of their home is a process, with many small improvements made over time. So tell us: What energy-saving improvements are on your to-do list? 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.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about a few tools you could use to find out how much energy you could make off of solar or wind resources at your home. But now I'm thinking that I went at that from the wrong angle. Because realistically, when it comes to making your home more efficient, renewable energy is probably the last step you'll consider taking. If you drop by the EERE Building Technologies Program, which handles building research and energy efficient building technologies, you'll see that they emphasize the importance of whole building design. The idea is simple: Energy efficient houses are made when every part of the home is working efficiently—not just one part. So let's not look at renewables by themselves. Let's look at where they fall in the grand scheme of things. This is important, because honestly, (as Rich so aptly pointed out in the December 18 Question of the Week), it's not very useful to add renewable energy to an energy inefficient home. It's not a magic... [More]

It's extremely cold and snowy in many parts of the country this week! Winter weather conditions can make driving a challenge, and we hope you're staying safe on the road while still keeping efficient driving in mind. What steps do you take to be safe and efficient when driving in the winter? 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.

As I write this post, the Midwest and northern states are in the grip of a deep freeze. Temperatures are extremely low, and when wind chill is added in, it's barely possible to set foot outside. But if you are like me, you still need to get to work. For most of the country, that means driving—at least a little, if not an hour-plus commute each way. So why not make your vehicle efficient? We've been advising you on ways to make the home more energy smart, so let's talk about your car for a moment. One of the best ways to be energy smart with your car is also one of the wisest: drive sensibly. Aggressive driving wastes gas. Jackrabbit starts, sudden stops and herky-jerky speeding up and slowing down can lower your mileage as much as 33 percent. If you like paying a third more per gallon, by all means... but it's safer for you and everyone around you to be a careful, sensible driver. Now you have one more reason! Second: Observe the speed limit. Gas mileage decreases once ... [More]