How to save energy?

Most people, when trying to save energy, usually think of turning off the light when unnecessarily turned on, or the occasional energy saving light bulb. However, the key to making big savings on your home energy bills is to see your home as a living energy system with individual parts that affect each other:

Insulation:  Checking your home's insulation is one of the fastest and most cost-effective ways to use a whole-house approach to reduce energy waste and make the most of your energy dollars. It includes a combination of products and construction techniques that protect a home from outside hot or cold temperatures, protect it against air leaks, and control moisture. You can easily increase the comfort of your home while reducing your heating and cooling needs by investing in proper insulation and sealing air leaks.
For example, if you install energy efficient double glazed windows and loft insulation, when it's time to replace your boiler and heating system, you may be able to manage with a smaller one that costs less, because the windows and walls will retain the heated air inside better than a home without efficient windows and insulation.

Heating and Cooling: Heating and cooling your home uses more energy and drains more energy dollars than any other system in your home. Typically, 43% of your utility bill goes for heating and cooling. No matter what kind of heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning system you have in your house, you can save money and increase your comfort by properly maintaining and upgrading your equipment. But remember, an energy-efficient device alone will not have as great an impact on your energy bills as using the whole-house approach. By combining proper equipment maintenance and upgrades with appropriate insulation, air sealing, and thermostat settings, you can cut your energy use for heating and cooling, and reduce environmental emissions, from 20% to 50%.

Water heating: Water heating is the third largest energy expense in your home. It typically accounts for about 12% of your utility bill. There are four ways to cut your water heating bills: use less hot water ( :) ), turn down the thermostat on your water heater, insulate your water heater, or buy a new, more efficient model.

Windows: Windows can be one of your home's most attractive features. Windows provide views, daylighting, ventilation and solar heating. Unfortunately, they can also account for 10% to 25% of your heating bill. During the summer, your air conditioner must work harder to cool hot air from sunny windows. Install energy efficient  windows and use curtains and shade to give your air conditioner and energy bill a break. If you live in the hotter areas, look into low-e windows, which can cut the cooling load by 10% to 15%. If you decide not to replace your windows, the simpler, less costly measures listed here can improve their performance.

Lighting: Making improvements to your lighting is one of the fastest ways to cut your energy bills. An average household dedicates 11% of its energy budget to lighting. Using new lighting technologies can reduce lighting energy use in your home by 50% to 75%. Advances in lighting controls offer further energy savings by reducing the amount of time lights are on but not being used.

Appliances: they usually account for about 17% of your household's energy consumption, with refrigerators, clothes washers, and clothes dryers at the top of the consumption list. When you're shopping for appliances, think of two price tags: the first one covers the purchase price—think of it as a down payment; the second price tag is the cost of operating the appliance during its lifetime. You'll be paying on that second price tag every month with your utility bill for the next 10 to 20 years, depending on the appliance. Refrigerators last an average of 14 years; clothes washers about 11 years; dishwashers about 10 years; and room air conditioners last 9 years.

Home Office and Home Electronics: Working from home saves energy and time by cutting out the commute, but it may increase your home energy bills a lot unless you use energy-saving office equipment. Energy efficient office equipment is widely available: it provides users with dramatic savings, as much as 90% savings for some products. Overall, these kind of office products use about half the electricity of standard equipment. Along with saving energy directly, this equipment can reduce air-conditioning loads, noise from fans and transformers, and electromagnetic field emissions from monitors.

Renewable Energy: You have many options for using renewable energy at home—from solar-powered outdoor lights to buying renewable energy from your utility to even producing solar electricity at home with photovoltaic (PV) cells.