If you are interested in saving dollars or the planet, energy efficiency is probably your best first investment. While it’s exciting to contemplate installing a solar-, wind-, or hydro-electric system, you’ll get more bang for your energy bucks by becoming more efficiency first.

Because heating and cooling are usually the largest energy loads in a typical building, it makes sense to focus first on the building envelope. Insulation and air sealing are prime thermal efficiency targets, so that your heating and cooling systems are conditioning your home’s environment, not the great outdoors.

A further focus on energy efficiency for non-thermal loads will also reap great benefit. Simple moves like switching to energy-efficient lighting, laptop computers, front-loading washing machine, and high-efficiency refrigeration are all worthwhile moves. You can take your focus on energy efficiency and conservation as far as you choose. It’s typically fairly easy to reduce an average home’s energy usage by 25%, and not too hard to go much farther. This energy efficiency work can make producing some or all of your own energy on site much more affordable. If you reduce your energy usage by half, you also reduce by half the cost of a renewable energy system to power your home.