Eight easy projects for instant energy savings

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Reducing your home energy use is the best of win-win deals - not only does it reduce your carbon footprint, it also saves you big bucks on your energy bills. That's especially exciting when you consider that many home energy improvements are fast, easy and inexpensive. Often, the savings from an individual project are small, but when you start putting them together they add up quickly.

These eight easy home improvement projects cost about $400 and will save at least $9,000 over the next 10 years!

Personal computer

power management

Computers and all their related equipment, such as printers and wireless routers, consume a lot of power. Two computers and related equipment use about 270 watts whenever they were switched on, but there's an easy way to reduce this amount. Simply put all the computer junk on a power strip, so that at night you can turn off everything with one flip of the power strip switch. Also start using the energy saving settings on your computer. During the day, set the computers to hibernate if they are inactive for 15 minutes. Altogether, this project can save a total of 1,780 kWh per year, 3,560 pounds of greenhouse gas, and $178 per year.

Install compact

fluorescent bulbs

Replace all of your existing incandescent lights with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). While you may spend about $50 on new light bulbs, some utilities offer rebates. In the first year you can save 1,168 kWh of energy; 2,336 pounds of greenhouse gases and $117 dollars.

Seal and insulate

heating ducts

Seal your home's exposed heating duct joints with duct mastic and insulate all the ducts in the attic and the crawl space. The cost for sealing and insulating ducts is minimal. In the first year, you can save 940 kWh of energy, 479 pounds of greenhouse gases and $75 dollars in heating costs.

Seal your home's air leaks

Most homes have many places where air leaks in and out, including around doors and windows, but especially around plumbing, wiring and light fixtures that penetrate into the attic or crawl space. You can find the obvious air leaks yourself because you'll feel the drafts, but you might be surprised at some of the places your home is losing heat. The best way to find these spots is through a professional inspection, including a blower door test. If your utility offers this service, you should definitely take advantage of it.

Then caulk around all your windows, and seal wiring and plumbing penetrations from the living space to the attic. For this project, you'll need a few tubes of caulking and some polyurethane foam in cans, which cost a about $50. Your infiltration can be cut down by 0.1 ACH (Air Change per Hour), which would be equal to 1,980 kWh. It also saves 1,009 pounds of greenhouse gases and $156 on energy bills.

Vent dryer inside

during winter

Route your clothes dryer heat vent to the inside of the house in the winter. If you live in a very dry climate, the added moisture is a benefit, not a problem. There are two major advantages of venting inside. First, you recover the heat that was added to dry the clothes. Second, you avoid bringing in cold outside air to make up for the air that the dryer is pushing outside. To vent to the inside, you need to have a dry climate, an electric (not gas) dryer, and a way to catch the lint in the dryer exit stream. The cost of this project is about $20 for some tubing and a lint filter. In one year you can save 630 kWh, 286 pounds of CO2, and $63.

Caution: Gas dryers should never be vented inside, since toxic combustion products are in the vented air. Electric dryers should only be vented inside if your climate is dry - be alert for any moisture problems.

Insulate windows with bubble wrap

You can insulate windows using bubble wrap packing material by spraying a water mist on the window, and then applying bubble wrap. The bubble wrap will usually stay in place for the full season with one spray. The bubble wrap distorts the view, but does allow good daylight to come through.

At the end of winter, you can just pull the bubble wrap off, roll it up and save it for next year. It costs about 27 cents per square foot, so for 141 square feet, you'd spend a total of $38. This is something you can do in a couple hours, and use until you decide on a longer term solution - if ever. For one year this project can save you 955 kWh of energy, 487 pounds of greenhouse gases, and $75 dollars in heating costs.

Eliminate phantom

electrical loads

Most electrical devices use a small amount of power even when they are switched off. These "phantom loads" are relatively small, but they add up to considerable wasted electricity.

The easiest way to find phantom loads is by using an inexpensive meter, such as the Kill-A-Watt, to measure the electrical use of your appliances. In a typical home, phantom loads can add up to about 80 watts of power. With power strips, you can completely turn off everything plugged into them by turning off the power strip to eliminate 20 of the 80 watts.

The only cost of this project is a couple of power strips - about $20, and can save you 569 kWh in the first year, 1,137 pounds of greenhouse gases, and $57 in heating costs.

Use electric mattress pads

Unlike electric blankets, the power consumption for mattress pad heaters is very low. By using these electric mattress pads to heat the bed, you can keep the temperature of the rest of the house much lower and still be comfortable. The savings in energy is considerable, and the comfort is outstanding. The mattress pad heaters vary in price, but many sell for around $125.