Most of us are looking to save money at the moment, and making one’s home more energy efficient is definitely a great way to conserve both money and energy. However, like most things, it is better not to think merely in the short-term. Making your home greener and more energy efficient can easily become a part of your everyday life, ensuring that you contribute to a greener and more efficient environment, as well as saving yourself thousands of pounds in the long-term.

Think of your house as a system, where you can improve performance and save yourself money by taking cost-effective measures designed to reduce building loads and installing appliances and various systems that are appropriately-sized to meet your reduced loads. In general, larger appliances and systems will increase your costs and reduce efficiency, yet at the same time need to be balanced against the necessity of the home and how often they will be used – if laundry needs to be done frequently, for example, it may be more worthwhile to invest in a larger washing machine than running constant loads in a smaller one.

There are many steps you can take to make your home as green and efficient as possible. Start off by focusing on the “envelope” of your home-your attic, walls windows and doors. After this, look at the energy efficiency of your appliances and systems, such as your lighting, cooling and heating. Look into clean energy production as well, such as solar and geothermal energy, and consider these following tips in order to help improve your home’s energy usage and turn your home into a “green home”:

1. Ensure that your walls and attic are insulated to slow the rate at which heat escapes from your home in winter or comes into it in summer. As a result, less energy is required to both heat and cool your house at any given time of year. If your house currently possesses no wall insulation, and your walls are pretty well continuous cavities, blown-in insulation is highly recommended, as it will greatly enhance your domestic comfort and will conserve energy and be cost-effective. If the insulation in your attic is either unfinished or old, looking into upgrading, as newer fabrics and technologies are much more efficient. Ensure also that you hire a well-qualified and experienced contractor to carry out any work, as correctly-installed cellulose, fiberglass and foam insulation materials will drastically reduce your overall heat conduction and save you a significant amount of money. An experienced contractor will most likely check new fittings with an infra-red camera during and/or after installation to check for any voids.

2. Make sure to upgrade or replace your windows. Old, leaky windows are energy drains, and will cost you a lot of money. Well-fitted, double-glazed windows will increase you level of comfort and save you money. You can also choose to boost the efficiency of your existing windows with weatherstripping and storm windows.

3. Outside: Plant shrubs and shade trees around your house-especially if you have an older property with less efficient insulation. A decently landscaped area around your home can help you to save energy-particularly when trees and shrubs are planted on the Western side of your property. In winter, the bare branches on the trees allow radiation through to warm the house, whilst blocking it in summer, helping to keep the house cool.

4. Appliances: Replace older furnace systems with a modern, high-efficiency system-especially if your existing furnace was built pre-1992 with a standing pilot. Such an appliance will most likely waster around 35% of the fuel it consumes, whilst a condensing furnace has an annual efficiency of around 90% and will waste not more than 10% of all natural gas you buy and could save you up to 25% on your total heating bill. Also, you can insulate your hot water lines to ensure that they do not cool off as rapidly between uses. Remember to turn down the temperature of your heater to around 120 degrees Fahrenheit (warm setting).

Be sure to shop for newer, greener appliances as well. Look especially for Energy Star products, as these are guaranteed to be energy efficient and will certainly save you money in the long run.

Adjust the temperature on your fridge to ensure that it isn’t running too hard. If you use your computer a lot, remember to put it in ‘hibernation’ mode when you leave the room and are not using it, as this will reduce the unit’s energy consumption. With your new, energy efficient washing machine, dryer or dishwasher, ensure that you always put a full load in. Also, remember that, with the technology in modern washing powders, it is just as efficient and hygienic to wash at cooler temperatures so don’t waste energy by using excessive hot water.

Remember to keep your fridge door closed when you are not putting items in or taking them out, as opening the fridge door is both costly and energy inefficient. The same goes for your oven: Try not to pre-heat it, if at all possible, and try not to keep opening it to check on how those scones are doing. You will lose a lot of heat every time you open the oven to check on them. Remember also that you can reduce the cooking time necessary for food by defrosting it instead of cooking it from frozen. Doing so will save you money, and save time when you are hungry and waiting for your meal!

5. Lighting: Replace all of your incandescent bulbs with CFLs (compact fluorescent lamps). By doing so, you can save three-quarters of the electricity used by incandescent light bulbs. The new types of bulbs might cost a little more initially, but they will last for around 10,000 hours and will use only $22 in electricity, making the total cost of a single bulb around $25 (as a single bulb will cost around $3. By comparison, a 100-watt incandescent light bulb may only cost 50 Cents, but a single bulb will last merely 10,000 hours using a total of 1,000 kilowatts of electricity, costing in excess of $80 on national average. As a result, the lighting cost of a CFL bulb comes to less than one-third of the cost of an incandescent bulb. remember also to switch lights off when you leave a room. Also, fit timers and dimmer switches if possible, to further maximize savings and energy conservation.

6. Water: Takes shower rather than baths, and if you don’t have a shower attachment, fit one. They are inexpensive, and will save a significant amount of money on both water usage and heating costs. Also, lower our water heater setting. Remember to turn off all taps when you are not using them-especially while brushing your teeth and doing the washing up. Also, rather than drinking bottled water, which is costly and environmentally unfriendly with all those plastic bottles, try installing a water filter instead. This will give you delicious, filtered water on tap, save you money and help the environment-all at once!

7. DIY: Check for cut-price insulation products, and draft-proof the gaps around your windows and doors, if need be. Foam and rubber strips, brush strips-all useful on door and patio doors, and silicone rubber sealant-excellent for irregular gaps, are all ubiquitous in DIY stores are not expensive. If you have a gas fire, you also need to consider how good your ventilation is to prevent the build up of humidity.

8. Furnishings: Soft furnishings are probably best. Gauzy curtains and carpeted floor will aid in heat retention, as well as being fashionable. If, however, you really can’t live without your wooden floor, you can insulate your timber floors by laying mineral wool underneath the floor boards.

9. Air Circulation: As well as the previous tips on windows and doors, be careful with air-conditioning units. Try to use it as sparingly as possible by ensuring decent ventilation in summer. Don’t blast the AC in summer or the heat in winter. Every single degree of heating or cooling can cost up to an extra 5% in total energy costs, so be mindful. Set the unit on a timer if possible, so that you won’t simply leave the unit on if you have to leave the house in a hurry. Remember also to ensure that filters are changed regularly to ensure peak efficiency.

10. Other tips: Be sure to conserve water. Fit a low flow toilet to reduce losses when you flush, and recycling systems for rainwater can reduce mains water usage by around half. You can also trap the sun to tap into its power to produce energy around the home. You can fit solar panels to heat your water, and look into PV panels to convert solar energy into electricity.

These systems may cost a little to install, but long-term savings can be big. You can also investigate government grants and tax breaks for installing green technologies such as solar panels. This is becoming a really popular choice in some areas. Whatever you do, take a few of these tips to make your home greener, the environment more sustainable and your domestic energy bills more manageable.