9 Practical Ways to Increase Energy Efficiency and Save Money

Saving energy at home translates into saving money. And who doesn't want to save money? Heck, even the guys who run the power companies that don't want you to save money by saving energy doubtlessly take every step they can to reduce their own energy consumption and save themselves some money. A number of different steps can be taken to save energy inside the home and many of them will cost you no upfront money at all. Even those energy saving steps that do call for a little investment will pay off handsomely in the long run.

Insulate Pipes

Insulate any exposed pipes with pipe insulation. This energy saving step is especially vital if the pipes that are currently lacking in insulation are passing through an area of the house you don't want those pipes to make even less energy efficient themselves.

Fix Leaky Faucets

A leaky faucet is an energy efficiency problem as much as it is a water problem. Estimates are that a home can save potentially as much as $45 dollars a year for every faucet that is leaking hot water.

Replace Edison Bulbs with Tesla Bulbs

Guess what you think you know but really don't? Thomas Edison did not invent the incandescent light bulb. In fact, the lightbulb was invented before Edison was even born. What Edison did do was figure out a way to keep it burning longer, but he did everything both within and without reason to keep the superior light bulb invented by rival Nikola Tesla from becoming the standard. As a result, 100 years of unnecessarily short lived light bulbs cost homeowners millions of dollars over the years. Those small fluorescent light bulbs that you can screw into any lamp? Those are the work of Tesla and they last much longer and provide significant energy efficiency and money saving over Edison's lousy "improvement" over existing light bulb technology of the time.

Use Pressure Cookers

Buy yourself a pressure cooker or start utilizing the one that sits gathering dust in your kitchen cabinet. Cooking with a pressure cooker can save energy and money wasted by cooking ovens and ranges.

Wash Clothes in Cold Water

You don't really need to wash your clothes in hot water to get them clean unless you or someone in the house has a job that might show up on that Mike Rowe show about dirty jobs. The average household can save on energy and money and still sport clean clothes by using the washing machine with cold water instead of hot water.

Clean Your Air Conditioner Outdoor Unit

The energy efficiency of a central air conditioner unit is totally dependent upon adequate air flow. A dirty outdoor unit will obstruct adequate air flow. Get some suds and a water hose and clean off the condenser coils. Pick away grass, vines and other vegetation. Remove anything that may be obstructing air flow from shrubbery to toys to a pile of leftover bricks.

Turn Off Lights When You Leave a Room

Your parents constantly hassled you about this habit when you were a kid, but it never managed to stick. Too bad, because the simple habit of turning off lights in rooms nobody inhabits is enough to save big sums of money over the course of your life. Lamps and overhead lights need not remain on when nobody is there to enjoy the illumination. This is a very simple way to save money that places no hurt upon you so why not do it?

Adjust Vent Registers in Uninhabited Rooms

Can you think of any point in cooling a room that is only inhabited when you have company? How about a room you only spend time in at night? Get into the habit of either completely closing an air conditioner vent register or closing it partially to keep from wasting air cool or warm air in a space where nobody is around to enjoy it. Not only does this remove the waste of energy from where it isn't needed, it more efficiently provides energy to where it is needed.

Install Water Conserving Sprinklers

A big beautiful lawn is a hard place to attack when you want to conserve energy and save money, but it can be done. Get rid of older, outdated sprinkler systems and replace them with more energy efficient models that use less water or distribute that water more effectively. You can save money and still have a lawn worth showing off.