Energy-Efficient Lighting Tips

Clean your light fixtures regularly.
Turn off lights when leaving a room.
Provide task lighting over desks, tool benches, etc., so that activities can be carried on without illuminating entire rooms.
If possible, put lamps in corners of rooms, where they can reflect light from two wall surfaces instead of one.
Use compact fluorescent bulbs in fixtures that are on for more than two hours a day. Compact fluorescent bulbs will given an incandescent bulb's warm, soft light, while using up to 75 percent less electricity. They also last about 10 times longer. Typically, a 23-watt compact fluorescent bulb can replace a 90- or 100-watt incandescent bulb.
Use dimmable bulbs when possible.
Install photoelectric controls or timers to make sure that outdoor lighting is turned off during the day.

Energy-Efficient Water Usage Tips

Reduce your water heating bill by 10 percent by lowering the water heater temperature from 140°F to 120F°. (Keep the temperature at 140°F if you use a dishwasher without a temperature booster.)
Once a year, drain a bucket of water of the bottom of the water heater tank. This gets rid of sediment, which can waste energy by "blocking" the water in the tank from the heating element.
Locate water heaters as close to the points of hot water usage as possible. The longer the supply pipe, the more heat is lost.
Insulate your hot water supply pipes to reduce heat loss. Hardware stores sell pipe insulation kits.
Consider buying a water heater insulation kit, which reduces the amount of heat lost through the walls of the tank.
Repair any leaky faucets promptly.
Use sink stoppers instead of letting water run while shaving and washing dishes.
Take showers instead of baths.
Set the washing machine temperature to cold or warm and the rinse temperature to cold as often as possible.
Wash only full loads of clothing and dishes - but do not overload machines.
Scrape food off dishes and rinse them with cold water before placing them in the dishwasher.

Insulate inside your wall sockets. Just remove the socket plate with a screwdriver and stick some insulation around the metal box or purchase simple-to-install, pre-cut foam gaskets that fit behind the switch or plug plate to effectively reduce leaks. It’s surprising just how much cold air enters a room through these holes.
Switch Off! Lights can guzzle a surprising amount of energy so don’t leave a room empty without switching all lights off, even if you have installed low energy lamps.
When reading alone, use only a low energy table or standard lamp which directs the light onto the page from the side or behind you.
When working at a computer or watching TV only use low energy low level background lighting.
Even when they’re turned off, computers, TVs, DVD players and microwave ovens use electricity to power the clock and remember all the settings you program into them so the only way to avoid this waste is to switch off at the wall socket.

Buy an automatic thermostat that you can program to turn down your heat at night while you sleep in the winter. It’s alarming the amount of money you will save.
Set the thermostat as low as comfort permits. Each degree over 68°F can add 3 percent to the amount of energy needed for heating.
In the heating season, water vapors from bathing and cooking are beneficial because they help humidify the home. Use kitchen and bath exhaust fans sparingly in the winter to keep as much heat as possible inside your house.
In the winter, the air is normally dry inside your house, which is a disadvantage because people typically require a higher temperature to be comfortable than they would in a humid environment. Therefore,efficient humidifiers are a good investment for energy conservation.
Locate the heating thermostat on an inside wall and away from windows and doors. Cold drafts will cause the thermostat to keep the system running even when the rest of the house is warm enough.
Lubricate pump and blower bearings regularly in accordance with manufacturers' recommendations to limit the amount of energy lost to friction and to extend equipment life as well.
Close heating vents and radiator valves in unused rooms. Make sure that drapes, plants, or furniture do not block registers for supply or return air.