There are a few simple things you can do to minimize your energy costs.

It’s all about the ducts:

If you’re looking to save money on heating and cooling without spending money, you’re going to want to take a look at your ducts. According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), your air ducts are one of the most important systems in your home, and if they’re not properly insulated and operating, they could be costing you a lot money thanks to wasted energy. If your ducts leak, you could be spending money to heat or cool parts of your home that don’t need it.

Aside from sealing your ducts, the simplest and most effective means of maintaining your air distribution system is to ensure that furniture and other objects are not blocking the airflow through your registers, and to vacuum the registers to remove any dust buildup.

Check other seals

It’s not just your ducts that may be leaking precious, costly, temperature-controlled air: Your windows, doors and refrigerator/freezer may also be victims.

Make sure your fridge and freezer are well sealed to keep the cold air where it belongs. Same goes for your doors and windows. A bad seal allows energy to seep out, draining your wallet in the process.

Keep it clean

Another quick and cheap option is to make sure that any accessible air filters in your heating and cooling systems are kept clean. Kateri Callahan, president of the Alliance to Save Energy, said that she recommends cleaning your heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) unit every 30 days to keep it running efficiently.

Laundry machines

If you’re someone who just washes all their clothes on the cold setting because you don’t want to worry about colors running, then you’re already doing something to help cut your energy costs. For everyone else, the DOE says that using warm water instead of hot can cut a load’s energy use in half, and washing in all cold water saves even more than that. If you’re worried about how clean your clothes will (or won’t) get in a cold-water wash, there are special cold water detergents that could help with that. Also, try to fill the machine whenever possible, instead of washing a lot of small loads. Your washing machine uses roughly the same amount of energy for a full load as a partial load, so get the most bang for your buck and fill it up.

Do your laundry after 7 p.m.

Many utility companies have plans set up that offer discounts for switching some of your power usage to off-peak times. The hours and times differ slightly depending upon what part of the country you’re in, and each plan is set up a little differently. If you’re willing to shift a significant portion of your energy usage to outside the peak times, you certainly can save money. Call your power company and ask them if they offer non-peak discounts and when they begin and end.

Reduce heat

Dishwashers require some heat to do a good job, but yours might be set to a higher temperature than needed. Most dishwashers automatically are set to between 140-145° Fahrenheit, but it only really needs to get up to 120° Fahrenheit. It’ll get the job done, but won’t use as much energy to heat the water.

Full loads only

If you’re someone who runs the dishwasher every day (or night), regardless of whether or not it’s full, you’re going to want to stop doing that. Instead, just run it when it’s full.

Scrape, but don’t pre-wash

Your dishwasher was designed to wash dishes, so let it do its job. If you pre-wash your dishes, you’ll be using more water and energy (to heat the sink water). Instead, scrape off any food scraps to make the dishwasher’s job easier, but there’s no need to fully clean them if they’re going on the dishwasher.

Other electronics

We tend to think of appliances and electronics as the big energy users in our household, but that’s not necessarily the case. For example, computers and other similar electronic devices account for approximately two percent of your household’s energy use, while TVs and other entertainment consoles make up around 4 percen of it. There are ways to reduce energy costs here too.

Computers

Instead of keeping computer equipment on all the time, turn off your monitor if you’re stepping away from your PC for more than 20 minutes. And if you’re going to be away from your PC for more than two hours, the DOE recommends turning off the central processing unit as well as the monitor. You can also plug all of your computer components (including a printer or other accessories) into the same power strip/surge protector. That way, if you’re not going to be using it for an extended period, you can simply turn off the strip. Also spending a large portion of time in low-power mode not only saves energy but helps equipment run cooler and last longer.

TV's

Most televisions sold today are already pretty energy-efficient, now that LED models are the new standard. But regardless of the type of TV you have, there are some pretty commonsense ways of reducing how much energy it uses. These include turning the TV off when you’re not using it and using the sleep mode at night if you use the TV to fall asleep.

Hope this finds you well,

Richard