Do It Yourself Tools

Begin with simple changes in lifestyle habits such as:

  1. switching lights off when not occupying rooms,
  2. turning the thermostat one degree up or down,
  3. operate major appliances late in the evening during off-peak hours, and
  4. turn off your computer at night, then
  5. replace incandescent light bulbs with Energy Star CFL Compact Flourescent Lights,
  6. repair and replace gasket seals around exterior doors and re-caulk windows annually, and
  7. make sure attic insulation is at least 12” deep between ceiling joists to achieve R-38 using cellulose.

Eventually you’ll want to install energy efficient exterior doors and windows.

CFL Lightbulb

If every American home replaced just one light with a light that's earned the ENERGY STAR, we would save enough energy to light 3 million homes for a year, save about $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent 9 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions per year, equivalent to those from about 800,000 cars.