The hot water heater usually doesn’t cross someone’s mind until something goes wrong.  According to the U.S. Department of Energy, heating water – whether you use your local electricity provider or natural gas company – accounts for about 12 percent of the average utility bill.  The best way to save money on your average electric bill or use less natural gas when it comes to heating water is to simply use less hot water.

One of the easiest and cheapest ways to save on high energy bills is to install low flow faucets and shower heads.  By switching from a standard, 2.5 gallon per minute shower head, to an ultra low flow 1.5 gallon per minute model, you could save as much as 50 bucks a year just in the cost of electricity to heat the water.  That’s on top of the nearly 30 bucks you’ll save in water, and that’s just for one shower head over the course of a single year.

When it comes to appliances that use hot water, your washing machine is, by far, the biggest culprit.  It can use over 30 gallons of hot water per load.  One way to cut the amount of hot water it uses is to simply wash everything in cold water.  But, old habits die hard and many people still insist on washing in hot, or at least warm, water.  If that’s the case, when it comes time to replace your washing machine,  replace it with an Energy Star rated unit.

While your dishwasher doesn’t use as much hot water as your washing machine, only 12 gallons per use, it also doesn’t have the option of washing only in cold water.  If you run the dishwasher, it’s going to use hot water… period.  Again, your best option is replacing an old, inefficient model with a newer, efficient Energy Star rated unit.  Much like a low flow shower head, newer units use air pressure to reduce the amount of water they use.

A quick, easy and cheap way to save money on your average electric bill is to wrap your water heater in insulation.  Just a little insulation around the body can greatly reduce the amount of heat lost.  Just make sure you don’t cover the top, bottom, thermostat or the burner compartment if it uses natural gas. That’d be a fire hazard. Also, insulate the first six feet of pipes going in and out of the water heater.  This keeps the cold water coming into the unit from being too cold in the winter, reducing the amount of work it has to do, as well as reducing the amount of heat – and money – lost.

Looking for an easy way to save money heating and cooling your home?  It won’t make you rich, but this easy step will have you running more efficiently and efficiency leads to savings.

Energy costs are on the rise causing inflated natural gas prices and higher average electric bills.  Heating and cooling can use as much as half of the total amount of energy used by your home.  Whether you heat your home with natural gas and cool it with electricity or simply use electricity to run everything, you can make your system run more efficiently.  Change your filters regularly!

A lot of fixes around the house that save you money can cost you money as well.  Changing the filters in your heating and cooling system is a welcomed exception.  A basic filter costs less than five bucks at Home Depot or Lowe’s.   If you want to spend more on filters that remove allergens from the air, you can spend four or five times that much.  Either way, fresh air filters mean optimum performance.

Most systems suggest quarterly filter changes.  However, changing your filters on a monthly basis will ensure that your heating and cooling systems run like a top.  The more efficient your system runs, the less power it uses.  By changing filters monthly, they won’t get choked with dust.  This means that air is able to flow through them almost unrestricted.  The cost of a new filter could be outweighed by saving on your average electric bill and cleaner air in your home.  Both allow you to breathe easier.

Have you ever tried to drink a milkshake through a straw that keeps collapsing?  It’s possible, but not very pleasant, and by the time you finish – if you finish – you’ll probably have a headache from all the straining.

Forcing your air conditioner, heat pump or furnace to try and suck air through filters that are caked with several months’ worth of dust and debris is kind of similar to your straw.  It makes the unit work a lot harder than it should have to, wasting electricity or natural gas, costing you money.

Since heating and cooling make up half of your energy bill, a little preventative maintenance could wind up saving you a good bit of money in the short term.  Long term, it could save you a lot of money.  Additional, needless strain on your heating and cooling systems can lead to expensive problems.  A few dollars every month could wind up saving you thousands of dollars in repairs if your unit’s compressor dies.

Don’t be penny-wise and pound-foolish when it comes to maintaining your heating and cooling systems.  Change your filters monthly and you will likely save more money than you spend.

Renewable sources of electricity are critical to reducing mankind’s impact on the planet.  Looking forward, Georgia Power is taking steps to determine whether the amount of sun the state receives would be enough to generate power using solar panels.

The project involves installing solar panels on top of power poles in seven cities – Augusta, Columbus, Conley, Macon, Rome, Savannah and Valdosta – to determine how much electricity the sun can generate.  Some Georgia Power customers are actually receiving some of the electricity being generated by this projects, but only tiny amounts; not enough to see a change in their average electric bill.

Each panel can produce up to 200 watts of electricity.  That’s only enough to power five forty watt light bulbs, but the company wants to determine how overcast days impact the system over time.   These seemingly small tests could pave the way for vast changes in how we consume power from our local electric company.

Part of the project is to test viable locations.  David Watwood, an engineering supervisor with Georgia Power, explained why the panels are being installed in cities across the state.  “It may work well in Augusta, but may not work well in Rome.”

One of the main obstacles to solar power is the cost involved.  Each panel costs about $5,000.  That’s a lot of money to produce 200 watts of electricity.  There are solar systems available that can completely power a home, but they can cost $100,000.  Right now, going “off the grid” is more of a personal statement than a way to save money on your average electric bill.

The eighteen month study is scheduled to end in the summer of 2012.  Managers at Georgia Power are hopeful that it will produce enough power to warrant a closer look at the long term economic feasibility of generating electricity with solar panels.  As the technology spreads, they are optimistic that the price of panels will drop, so that they can explore solar power on a much larger scale.

Solar rooftops, solar farms and wind farms – other possible sources of renewable power – are some of the ways to generate electricity that engineers at Georgia Power are hoping to explore in the near future.  Alternative energy sources are going to have to be in the long term plans of everyone, and Georgia Power is trying to stay ahead of the curve.

Who knows?  Someday, the entire grid may be “off the grid”, when it comes to power generation from fossil fuels.

Sometimes, it’s the simplest fix that leads to the greatest savings when it comes to the cost of gas or electricity prices.

Sealing and insulating the ducts in your home is one of those simple fixes that could improve your heating and cooling system’s efficiency by 20 percent – or more!  Since up to half of your energy bill can be devoted to heating and cooling your home, the savings can really add up.

Think about it.  Air ducts are located in one of two places, your attic or your basement, and in some homes it’s both.  If your ducts are not properly sealed, you could be wasting a lot of money heating or cooling spaces in your home where you spend very little time.  But if you want to save some money you owe it to yourself to go into those spaces and inspect your home’s ducts… or have an HVAC specialist do it for you.

If you decide to inspect and repair your ducts yourself, make sure you use the proper materials.  Even though it’s called duct tape, it should not be used to repair leaky joints in your ducts.  Use specialized aluminum foil tape to make any repairs.  This is the same tape that is used to connect standard, foil-jacketed ducts by HVAC professionals and is the only type of tape that is acceptable to use.

While you are repairing your ducts, take a moment to note their surface temperature.  If your air-conditioning is running, and the duct is cold to the touch – or the heat is running, and it’s hot to the touch – you are still wasting energy and money.   Wrapping your ducts with insulation will help curb the amount of energy lost through the duct itself.  Cracks in the joints of your ducts are easy to spot and fix, but they aren’t the only ways that cool or heated air is lost.  Thermal transfer can be just as wasteful.

Spring is a great time to check your ducts and make sure there aren’t any problems.  The weather is cool, and the temperatures in your attic aren’t terribly uncomfortable.  Believe me, if you put it off until the dead of summer, you’ll wish you hadn’t.

By properly maintaining and insulating the heating and cooling ducts in your home, you can make some significant strides toward lowering the cost of staying comfortable, no matter what the season.  The cost of gas and electricity prices may fluctuate, but your home will remain energy efficient if you take the time to maintain it properly.

Homeowners are always on the lookout for ways to save money in the home.  With the focus on energy savings many have looked to more efficient appliances.  However, how many look at the real cost of using appliances for how to save money on utilities?

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, appliances consume 17% of the energy that your home uses.  Your refrigerator and washing machine are the main culprits when it comes to your rising electric bill.  Your dryer – depending on whether it uses electricity or your natural gas provider – is another major drain on your wallet.

If you are in the market for a new energy efficient appliance, pay close attention to both prices; the price to buy and the price to use.   Remember, a low sales price doesn’t always mean the lowest cost.

When shopping for a new energy efficient appliance, be sure to look for two things:

• The Energy Star label
• The EnergyGuide label

The Energy Star label is a no-brainer.  This ensures that the appliance exceeds government standards for energy efficiency, which is both good for the environment and your wallet.

The yellow EnergyGuide label can be found on all appliances.  The appliance’s annual energy usage and estimated annual cost to operate are prominently displayed on the label.  The label also shows how efficient – or inefficient – the appliance is in relation to similar models.  This helps you compare different brands easily so you can make sure that your new appliance doesn’t come with higher energy bills for years to come.

Knowing how much it will cost to operate an appliance is important, because you could be stuck with it for a long time.  Washing machines and dishwashers last about a decade.  The average refrigerator lasts for 14 years.  Going with a cheaper model could save you a little money now, but if that appliance costs more to operate than other models, it could cost you $350 more over the life of the unit.

Always buy the most energy efficient appliance you can afford.  The long term savings could be significant.  You don’t want to be saddled with high electric or natural gas bills every month for the next decade because you tried to save a few dollars up front.

Also, be sure to check for any government rebates.  If you buy an Energy Star appliance, there may be federal or state incentives that could get you a bigger tax deduction, or even put a little extra cash in your pocket.

The days are getting longer and the weather’s getting warmer.  That means spring is just around the corner, when thoughts naturally turn to natural gas prices.  What?

Spring usually means looking forward to baseball and picnics and simply shaking off the chill of winter.  But if you take a look back at the cost of gas and what it meant to keep your home warm this past winter, you’ll want to find ways to cut that bill next winter.

The federal government requires furnace manufacturers to display how efficient they are so that consumers can easily compare models.  It’s known as annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE), which is basically the percentage of heating fuel that actually becomes heat in your home.  The minimum AFUE that the government allows in a new furnace is 78%, which means that 22% of the natural gas you are being billed for is being wasted.  When it comes to natural gas prices, that wasted gas is wasted money.  And, the AFUE only deals with the efficiency of the unit.  That doesn’t take into account how much heated air may be leaking out of duct work and poorly sealed doors and windows, but that’s a whole other ballgame.

The best way to cut natural gas prices is to install a high efficiency furnace.  If your home is just a few years old, chances are that your furnace is costing you a little money every month.  If it’s a decade or more old, it could be costing you a lot!  How much?  It could be nearly 50% of what you’re paying for natural gas!

The first step to saving money is understanding what kind of furnace you have, so here are a few tips on identifying how efficient – or inefficient – it is.  If your furnace has a continuous pilot light, its AFUE probably falls below 72%.  If your furnace has an electronic ignition, its AFUE is probably around 80%.  Now, keep in mind that these are ballpark figures, but the reality of the situation is that your AFUE could be much lower and that could lower your natural gas bill.

Based on government figures, if your furnace’s AFUE is 50%, replacing it with a new, high efficiency model with an AFUE of 95% would save you $47.36 per $100 spent on natural gas.  That means that if you spent an average of $300 a month this past winter, you could cut that to under $160 a month next winter.

Next winter may seem a long way off, but just like buying a swimsuit in the fall or a winter coat in the spring can save you money, updating your heating system in the “off-season” can be a financial “home-run”.

If your furnace is a mid-efficiency model, and the money for a new, high efficiency model simply isn’t in the budget, a retro-fit might be in order.  If your furnace still has plenty of life left in it, the retro-fit could be a good way to save on natural gas prices.

One way to increase efficiency is to install an intermittent ignition device.  However, these units require professional installation and cost about $250.  Even though they can save you some in natural gas costs, they generally won’t pay for themselves for about a decade, so it may not give you the return on investment that you’re looking for.  Another down side is that they may not save you anything if your equipment is too old.

One viable alternative may be shutting the furnace’s pilot light off in the spring and turning it on in the fall.  This will definitely save you money in the short term since there’s no real investment – other than a little bit of sweat and time.

Another option may be to reduce the heating capacity of your furnace.  First off, you’ll need to make sure that the modifications don’t violate building codes or void any manufacturer’s warranty.  If the furnace is old, the warranty shouldn’t be an issue, but if it’s a newer model, you’ll want to check it out.

This is not a simple operation, so a professional will definitely need to be called in.  What they are going to do is reduce the size of the orifice on the gas burner and the baffles, if needed.  Again, this is something that should only be attempted by a qualified professional, but the modification should cost less than $100.  And, it will definitely give you a substantial return on investment since the modification can save you up to 15% on the cost of gas.

Retro-fitting your furnace won’t net you the huge savings that installing a new, high efficiency furnace will, but it won’t cost you thousands of dollars either.  It all comes down to what you can afford to do, but retro-fitting can be a great way to save money on natural gas while you save up for the new, high efficiency model.

Let’s say you pay the gas company an average of about $175 a month – higher in the winter, lower in the summer – over the course of a year.  That’s an annual savings of $315, which means the modification has paid for itself in just about four months, and if natural gas prices go up, you’ll be saving even more.

A press release issued earlier today by Cyclone Power Technologies claims Philadelphia based  PECO, an electricity and natural gas provider, has approved the completion of the waste heat power generator at Bent Glass Design.

Approval from PECO is a huge step forward in the renewable energy market. It lends credibility to the idea of capturing otherwise wasted resources to deliver usable energy.  Cyclone claims capturing the existing exhaust heat will allow Cyclone’s waste energy recovery system to “convert over 500,000 BTUs of exhaust heat from Bent Glass’ furnaces into power that can off-set peak electricity usage and corresponding demand charges at the facility.”

Whether it’s locked in or a variable rate, most of us are aware of the “per therm” natural gas rates we pay each month.  But have you ever thought about how you impact natural gas prices?  More specifically, have you considered how your everyday use drives your natural gas bill?

When you look at your bill, natural gas prices seem pretty straightforward.  You use X amount of therms at X amount of dollars per therm.  That’s easy enough, but how do you determine what in your house is using those therms?   Try a natural gas usage calculator.

Our natural gas usage calculator allows you to specify how often you use some of the more common natural gas appliances in your home.  Using the data you enter, the calculator will give you a monthly and yearly breakdown for your natural gas prices.  It will give you a clearer insight into what drives your natural gas bill and reveal potential opportunities for cost savings.

If nothing else, it may cause you to stop and think about how you use natural gas and where you could upgrade to a more energy efficient appliance.  If you’re interested, check out our Natural Gas Usage Calculator.

Fixing the power grid has been getting more and more coverage lately, as it should.  However, one of the nation’s most well known energy, appliance and electricity companies may be giving the grid the most exposure.

Through its Ecomagination Challenge, GE, the “imagination at work” company, is offering millions of dollars in funding to help drive the development of our future energy needs.  According to its website, ”GE’s Ecomagination Challenge is a $200 million call to action for businesses, entrepreneurs, innovators, and students to share their best ideas and come together to take on one of the world’s toughest challenges – building the next-generation power grid to meet the needs of the 21st century.”

It’s no small task, but it is an absolute necessity.  Consisting of three specific challenge areas, Renewable Energy, Grid Efficiency, and EcoHomes/EcoBuildings, the Ecomagination Challenge is open to pretty much anyone.  GE wants you to “change the way the world uses energy in powerful new ways”.  Are you up to the challenge?