The Eleven Habits of Highly Efficient People (Energy Efficient, that is).

Since the introduction of Home Power Saver, we’ve spent a lot of time talking about making your home more energy efficient through simple projects and innovative products. However, some of your biggest savings can be gained from simple habit changes. Following the tips below, you may save $250 or more per year, without spending a dime.

I’ve tried to come up with some simple tips and habits that will save you energy and save you money. Many of these are common sense, and you’ve likely seen them before. Hopefully a few are new to you!

Turn the Lights Out

Ok, this is as simple as it gets. When you leave a room, turn off the lights and ceiling fan if you have one. In certain specific cases, you might consider automating this using occupancy sensors or motion sensors, as we’ve previously discussed.

If you can save two hours of 120 watts consumption per day (this should be easy - it is equivalent to two 60 watt incandescent bulbs), you will save $4.50 a year.

OK, you won't retire on that, but remember you are making there habits, and when combined with other habits, you'll have noticeable savings.

Turn Off the TV

TVs can use a lot of power – especially giant plasma screens. It is easy to get into a bad habit of leaving the TV on in the other room while you eat dinner, take a shower, whatever. Change that habit and make sure you turn the TV off when not in use.

As we discussed in Television Sets and Power Usage - How to Pick a New TV and Optimize It, you may be saving anywhere from 100 to 600 watts! If you can remember to turn the TV off an extra hour per day, you can save $5 to $22+ a year.

Turn Off the Computer

We are a society that requires instant gratification. 20 year olds don’t even remember times before remote controls existed, and those of us who do can’t imagine life without it. As a result, we tend to leave things on when unnecessary. Consider your home computer(s) – I know many people who leave them on 24/7.

I can understand leaving them on when they are performing a task – acting like a server or downloading a large file, for example. But we should use power saving features, and even turn them off completely when not in use for longer periods.

As we discussed in Four Ways to Reduce Computing Costs by $100 or More, you can save as much as $180 a year!

In Fact - Turn Off or Unplug Everything (within reason)!

I specifically mentioned TVs and Computers, largely because they are large power users, and many families have multiple of both. However, almost all electronic components use power, and should be turned off when not in use.

And to make matters worse, most electronics consume power even when off (called Vampire or Phantom Power, previously discussed). Place computer peripherals (printers, monitors, external hard drives, etc) on one power strip and power off the entire strip when not in use. Do the same with your TV components (though you may want your cable box, DVR, etc to stay on so it can record shows and get updates). Don’t leave kitchen appliances plugged in when not in use. Check out How to Kill the Vampire for many other ideas.

Combine and Sort Laundry for Optimal Load Sizes

Doing full loads of laundry (not over-full!) is most efficient for both washing and for drying. Combine all household members laundry to help get more efficient loads. Perhaps a laundry sorter will help you in this endeavor. Laundry sorters can be shared by the entire family, with like colors being placed into pre-defined bags in the sorter.

Clean the Dryer Lent Trap After Every Load

On my dryer at home I can reduce drying time by 10-20% by keeping the lent trap clean. My drying times go from 45-50 minutes to about 40 minutes.

This 7.5 minute savings times 5 loads a week translates to about $100 a year.

For bigger savings, try air drying laundry on a clothes line. Obviously, this is more work and more planning, and may not be the prettiest to look at, but it may be well worth the effort. According to Michael Bluejay, an average dryer uses 4400 watts of power. One load at 45 minutes costs 33 cents to dry at 10 cents per KwH. An average family of four has 7 loads per week, translating to $120 a year in drying costs.

Adjust the Thermostat When Home and When Leaving

First, see if you can get by with the thermostat 1 or 2 degrees warmer in summer and 1 or 2 degrees cooler in winter. Give it a full month to see how you adjust.

Also, when you leave the house for outings of more than an hour, get in the habit of adjusting the thermostat another few degrees to keep the heating and cooling system from managing an empty house. Of course, you can automate this to some extent with a programmable thermostat, but if you can remember to do this manually out of habit, you’ll save a few extra dollars.

Close the Blinds/Drapes Appropriately

In hot climates, make sure you keep the blinds and drapes closed on the east, south, and west sides. Keeping sunlight out will help moderate the temperatures.

In winter, close the blinds and drapes at night to get an insulating affect, and open them during the day to let the light in.

In fact, you can even purchase special insulating drapes to help in this effort.

Only Run Full Dishwasher Loads

Not only do we only run the dishwasher when it is full, we use the short wash option and air dry option as much as possible. We try to time it so we run the dishes after dinner, which allows us to prop the door open a few inches all night so the dishes can air dry, allowing us to put them away in the morning. This habit certainly saves money and saves time – no manual drying needed!

Consider Using the Microwave or Portable Grill More

Rather than heating up your oven for small meals, consider changing your dining habits and using a small portable grill and/or microwave for an extra meal each week – especially in summer. Microwaves and portable grills will more efficiently heat your food.

Stay On Top of Maintenance Chores

Review the Nine Chores You Should Not Skip to help save money all year long.

There Are More Ways to Save

This list is just the start - the big gainers, so to speak. Please leave your comments as to other simple habits which can save money. Again, these are habits - i.e. no cost changes in behavior.