Nine settings quietly push your power bill up every month. The last one costs about $75 a year while you are asleep.
The US Energy Dept says turning your thermostat back 7-10F for eight hours a day cuts up to 10% off a year of heating and cooling.
An ENERGY STAR certified smart thermostat trims heating and cooling bills by more than 8%, about $50 a year. Nearer $100 if the house sits empty all day.
Consumer electronics are roughly 10% of home electricity use, and some of it drains while off. Put the TV, box and soundbar on one switched strip.
LEDs use up to 90% less energy than standard bulbs and last around 15 times longer. Changing your five most-used fixtures saves about $40 a year.
Water heating eats 14-25% of the energy a home uses. The US Energy Dept recommends the warm setting, 120F, set on the tank dial or in its app.
With the AC running, a ceiling fan lets you raise the thermostat about 4F with no loss of comfort. Switch it off when you leave, or it just burns power.
An ENERGY STAR certified room air conditioner uses 9% less energy than a standard model and costs under $70 a year to run. The label is on the unit.
Running the dryer 15 minutes longer than needed costs up to $34 a year, and a clogged lint trap another $34. Use the moisture sensor cycle if you have one.
Leaving a computer running all day costs about 21 cents a day, roughly $75 a year. Set it to sleep after 15 idle minutes; a screensaver saves nothing.
Heating and cooling is nearly half of a typical US home's energy bill, over $900 a year. Fix the thermostat first, then work back down this list.