Some ways to protect the environment - recycling, composting, switching to environmentally safe products - have become popular choices for home owners. The following home energy-saving tips - even though they're often overlooked - help protect the environment too, because they help you use your energy more efficiently, according to the Edison Electric Institute and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, two national electric utility trade associations.

Insulating Doors and Windows

Start with your home's biggest energy wasters - the windows and exterior doors. You lose more of your heating and cooling dollars through these - per square inch - than through any other part of your home. For instance, heat passes through a window with a single pane of glass 14 times faster than through a well-insulated wall. So even with an attic full of insulation, you still can be wasting money and energy through your windows and doors.

Install storm or double-pane windows to cut this energy drain in half. Add storm doors to create the same insulation effect there.

Caulking and Weatherstripping

After insulating your windows and doors, don't overlook their caulking and weatherstripping needs. Almost 40% of your monthly heating and cooling bill could be going through cracks due to poorly caulked and weatherstripped doors and windows.

Caulking, a rubber-like material that can expand or contract, seals air leaks around each paned of window glass, and between the door and window frames and the house. Weatherstripping is a flexible material (foam rubber, felt, or aluminum) that helps to assure a snug fit between the parts of windows and doors that open and close. Caulking and weatherstripping keep outside air out, and inside air in.

Duct Sealing

These are the ducts that carry heated or cooled air to the registers in each room of your house. Doing a checkup here can save 10 to 15% on your energy bill. All ductwork should be sealed at the joints to prevent leakage. Ducts located in unconditioned areas of you home (attic or crawlspace) should be insulated.

Water Heating

In the average American house, water heating is the second largest energy user. Save water and the energy needed to keep it hot by maintaining an energy-efficient water heating system and conserving hot water.

Start with the water heating tank itself:

Get the right size water heater. Keeping more hot water on hand than you need can waste energy.

For every 10 degrees you can lower the temperature, you can save about 6% of you water heating energy.

If the sides of your water heater feel warm to the touch, you may need more insulation. Wrap a water heater blanket around the water heater, especially if the water heater is located in an unheated area of your home.

In addition to insulating the water heater, you will also save money by insulating the hot water pipes leaving the water heater.

Low-flow shower heads and faucet aerators reduce water flow, saving both water and energy. Aerated showerheads and faucets mix air with water to maintain pressure, and low-flow showerheads pulse the water flow. These simple devices are easily installed, and can reduce the amount of water and energy used by 50 percent.

Thermostat Set-Back

A set-back thermostat allows you to change the temperature setting, or tun off your heating or cooling system, at preset times. Each morning when you leave, and each evening when you return the temperature changes to save energy, automatically. Heating or cooling is done only when someone is home.

By using these easy and cost-effective, energy-saving guidelines, you can stay comfortable all year-round, and still save money.

For more information on saving energy all around you house, call Deaf Smith Electric Cooperative, Inc. and ask for the Member Services Department.