• Buy Energy Star products and appliances.

• Turn lights and computers off when they are not in use.

• Clean your refrigerator coils. Dust on the coils located in the back of a refrigerator makes it less efficient.

• Change or clean the filters in your air conditioners and heaters.

• Use sleep mode on your computers at home and at the office. Turn them off at night.

• Open the dishwasher and air-dry dishes instead of using the hot air dry cycle. Only run the machine with full loads.

• Dry your laundry on a clothesline.

• Wash clothes on warm or cold cycle, not hot.Wash only full loads.

• Turn down your hot water heater to 120F.

• Shorten showers by a few minutes to conserve hot water.

• Adjust thermostat when you leave the house (10F down in winter, 10F up in summer).

• Keep up with basic furnace maintenance. Have it professionally tuned and cleaned, and replace air filters regularly.

• Cook more efficiently. Cover pots, use a pressure cooker when appropriate, keep burners clean, cook several dishes at a time in the oven, and use a microwave to heat food.

• Keep drapes or blinds closed at night in winter and during the day in the summer to reduce heating and cooling needs.

• Install faucet aerators in sinks to reduce hot water use.

• Insulate the 4 ft of hot water pipes closest to hot water heater.

• Insulate all hot water pipes.

• Caulk and weatherstrip all your doors and windows.

• Have a professional seal your heating ducts to reduce the loss of heated air.

• Install a programmable thermostat.

• Replace appliances–dishwashers, refrigerators, washing machines–that are more 10 years old with an Energy Star model. The older models are less efficient than newer ones.

• Replace your old furnace with efficient Energy Star model.

• Install a solar hot water heater.

• Eat one less beef meal per week. It takes far more energy to produce meat for consumption than it does to raise a crop.