What does it mean to be energy efficient? It’s not a difficult task to do! You can make small changes around your home that can make a BIG difference in your energy bills and in the environment. I would encourage you to start small, but challenge yourself to do more. You’ll feel good knowing you’re helping the environment, and of course your pocket book.
Using energy efficiently simply means that you are using less energy, but getting the same end result as if you were using the energy inefficiently. One simple task to do around the home, as we enter the colder season, is to buy an insulator kit for your windows. These kits are fairly inexpensive, and provide for a BIG difference in your energy bills. According to 3M, using the window insulator kits, on 10 windows in a home in the Midwest, would save the homeowner an average of $270 annually. How much you could save would of course depend on the size of your home, how many windows you have, what type of furnace you have, etc, but you would still be saving a lot of money by using this inexpensive kit.
One of the easiest things you could do yet is to change out your light bulbs. Most people use incandescent light bulbs. If you were to switch to compact fluorescent lights you would see a noticeable difference in your electric bill. By switching out just one 75 watt incandescent bulb with a 20-watt compact fluorescent light bulb, you would save over $65 over the life of the bulb. 
Those are the savings with just ONE bulb. Picture the results if you changed out all of the bulbs in your home!
If you really want to make a change in your energy bills and in the environment, I would encourage you to get a home energy audit. The energy audit would determine where changes could be made to make your home more energy efficient. Some work that could be done would be caulking, attic, sidewall, foundation and water heater insulation, furnace cleaning and/or modifications, etc. Tri-CAP’s Weatherization program would do the audit, if eligible, but your energy provider generally offers a free audit as well. Sometimes smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors will be installed, as well as an energy efficient shower head and low pressure sink caps.
Whether you decide to start small by changing out your light bulbs or by going big and making home changes, anything will help. Contact your energy vendor to schedule an energy audit, or contact Tri-CAP to learn more about the Weatherization program and how you can apply. (Tri-CAP’s weatherization program: https://tricap.org/weatherization.html). Remember that it really is a simple process, but the results you’ll get are astonishing. Your pocket book will be happy and the earth will thank you for saving her valuable resources.
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