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Many families spend more money than they need to spend on home utility bills because a large portion of the energy is wasted. The good news is there is a lot you can do to save energy and money at home. By making a few small changes, you can reduce your energy costs by 10 to 50 percent. With the price of everything else escalating, I hope this information will save you some extra change.

The key to achieving these savings in your home is a whole-house energy efficiency plan. To take a whole-house approach, view your home as an energy system with interdependent parts. For example, your heating system is not just a furnace. It’s a heat-delivery system that starts at the furnace and delivers heat throughout your home using a network of ducts. Even a top-of-the-line, energy-efficient furnace will use a lot of excess energy if the ducts, walls, attic, windows, and doors are not insulated and leak. Taking a whole-house approach to saving energy ensures that dollars you invest to save energy are spent wisely. The following tips will help you to save energy at home:

Set your thermostat comfortably low in the winter and comfortably high in the summer. Install a programmable thermostat that is compatible with your heating system.

Use compact fluorescent light bulbs. You can even purchase ones to use with dimmers. Study your family’s lighting needs and use patterns, paying special attention to high-use areas such as the living room, kitchen, and outside lighting. Look for ways to use lighting controls — like occupancy sensors, dimmers, or timers — to reduce lighting energy use, and replace standard (also called incandescent) light bulbs and fixtures with compact or standard fluorescent lamps. Fluorescent lamps create less heat than incandescent bulbs. This is important if you are trying to cool the interior air.

Air dry dishes instead of using dishwasher’s drying cycle.

Turn off your computer and monitor when not in use.

Plug home electronics, such as TVs and DVD players, into power strips; turn the power strips off when the equipment is not in use. (TVs and DVDs in standby mode use several watts of power.)

Lower the thermostat on your hot water heater to 120 degrees F.

Take short showers, 5 minutes or less, instead of baths.

Wash only full loads of dishes and clothes.

Close fireplace dampers when not burning wood in the fireplace.

Look for the ENERGY STAR label on home appliances and products. ENERGY STAR products meet strict efficiency guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Check the insulation levels. Visit the Consumer’s Guide for instruction on checking insulation levels: http://www.eere.energy.-gov/consumer/your_home/energy_audits/index.cfm/mytopic1117.0.)

q Check for air leaks. Look for hEnergy-efficient improvements make your home more comfortable, and they can yield long-term financial rewards. Reduced utility bills more than make up for the higher price of energy-efficient appliances and improvements over their lifetimes. In addition, your home could bring in a higher price when you sell.

This information was researched by Janie Harris, Extension Housing and Environment Specialist with Texas AgriLife Extension Service. Shelia Lewis is a Smith County Extension agent in family and consumer sciences. She can be reached at sk-lewis@tamu.edu.

oles or cracks around walls, baseboards, ceilings, attic hatches, window frames, wall or window mounted air conditioners, weather stripping around doors, light and plumbing fixtures, switches, and electrical outlets that can leak air into or out of your home (for example, mail slots).

Check to make sure the fireplace damper seals when it is closed.

Maintain your appliances and heating and cooling systems. Check owner’s manuals for the recommended maintenance.