Replacing your incandescent bulbs with energy-efficient lights such as Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulbs is one of the easiest ways to start saving money. EnergyStar-rated CFLs in particular will save you money because they use 75% less energy and last 6 to 12 times longer than traditional bulbs. In fact, replacing your 5 most frequently used bulbs with EnergyStar-rated CFLs can save you more than $65 a year in energy costs; or $50 per lifespan of a CFL bulb (calculation based on 15-watt CFL, 10,000-hour lifespan, and $0.0898 per kWh).

Better still, did you know that if every US household makes its next lightbulb an EnergyStar-rated CFL, we will save more than $800 million on our national energy bill and 8.4 billion kWh of energy (that's enough to power over 808,000 homes for one year – about the number of homes in Boston, Denver, and San Francisco combined)! In pollution terms, it is like removing the pollution of 1.2 million cars for one year!
 

Cost:Approximately $2.50 to $5 per bulb

Payback:Around 3 to 7.5 months, depending on usage and your electric rate (cost per kWh)

Savings:Provided ALL household light fixtures are energy-efficient: per year = $117; 10-year savings = $1861*

​

Low flow fixtures such as low flow faucets aerators and low flow showerheads save you water, energy and money by limiting the volume of water that flow through them. As such, by switching from standard showerheads (2.5 gpm) to low flow showerheads (1.0 gpm to 1.5 gpm), you can easily save 7,300 gallons of water (approximately 10% to 60% off your current consumption); in terms of combined water and energy savings, that equals to about $91 for natural gas and $143 for electric (calculation based on 4-person family using 1.5 gpm showerhead, FEMP/DOE data, and average water rate of $4/1000 gallons).
 

Cost:Approximately: low flow faucet aerator = $1 to $3.50; low flow showerhead = $10 to $68

Payback:For aerators, immediate; for showerheads, 2+ months, depending on the gpm

Savings:Niagara Conservation 1.5 gpm 2915CH low flow showerhead, for example:
• Electric Water Heat = 949 kWh + 7,300 gal H2O = $143 (per year)
• Gas Water Heat = 52 therms + 7,300 gal H2O = $91 (per year)

Electrical devices consume power even when they’re switched off. In fact, this “phantom” use of power makes up 40% of your total home (or 73% of your total office) energy usage. But what's the alternative to crawling underneath the desk(s) to unplug your things each time? Or, replacing all of your old appliances EnergyStar-rated ones? It's called the smart power strip.

Also known as the energy saving power strip, this smart little gadget automatically cuts off the power supply from the power source when devices are shut off, while still supplying power to the devices that you always need on (e.g., Internet phone, cable modem, DVR). Best of all, in addition to costing you no more than a standard power strip, a smart power strip will give you surge protection and save you about $15 to $20 per month on your energy bill!
 

Cost:Approximately $20 to $100

Payback:For a smart power strip around $35, as little as 6 weeks

Savings:According to treehugger.com, per year = $178; 10-year savings = $2834*