To help you save money by saving energy, we launched #AskEnergySaver -- an online series that gives you access to some of the Energy Department’s home energy efficiency experts. During 2014, experts from the Department and our National Labs have answered your energy-saving questions and shared their advice on ways to improve your home’s comfort. Air sealing is a cost-effective way to cut heating and cooling costs and increase comfort by reducing the amount of air that leaks into and out of your home. Effective air sealing techniques such as caulking and weather-stripping offer quick returns on investment and create a healthier indoor environment. This month we asked you to share your questions about home heating. To answer them we turned to Eric Werling , a program coordinator in our Building Technology Office. Before we get to the questions, Eric wanted to issue a general warning about air sealing. If the...

EERE offers webinars to the public on a range of subjects, from adopting the latest energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies, to training for the clean energy workforce. Webinars are free; however, advanced registration is typically required. You can also watch archived webinars and browse previously aired videos, slides, and transcripts. Upcoming Webinars December 18: Live Webinar on Best Practices in Energy Data Collection and Tracking in the Public Sector Webinar Sponsor:  Weatherization and Intergovernmental Programs Office The Energy Department will present a live webinar titled “Best Practices in Energy Data Collection and Tracking in the Public Sector” on Thursday, December 18, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Hosted by the Energy Department's Weatherization and Intergovernmental Programs Office (WIPO), this Technical Assistance Program webinar will cover a step-by-step guide with best practices from state and local governments and school districts across the country demonstrating the value of an...

One of the most exciting (and also harrowing) things about buying a house is getting a home inspection. Your house looks great… but is it? Is it as wonderful as you think it is, or is it a money pit in disguise? My home inspection taught me a ton about my new house, but that's not all I learned. The inspector also gave us a detailed checklist of things we could do every month, season, and year to save energy on our home. And most of them came down to one thing: Maintenance! If you've read this blog before, you're probably not surprised. A well-maintained system or appliance will work more efficiently—and if it's not working as hard, it's not using as much money. So here are a few examples of what he suggested we do every year to keep our home in top condition: Heating: Our inspector suggested we get...

EERE offers webinars to the public on a range of subjects, from adopting the latest energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies, to training for the clean energy workforce. Webinars are free; however, advanced registration is typically required. You can also watch archived webinars and browse previously aired videos, slides, and transcripts. Upcoming Webinars December 11: Live Webinar on Residential Energy Efficiency Deep Dive, Part One Webinar Sponsor: U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Utilities Service The Energy Department and U.S. Department of Agriculture will present a live webinar titled "Residential Energy Efficiency Deep Dive, Part One" on Thursday, December 11, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Learn the fundamentals of developing a sustainable program working to upgrade the energy efficiency of homes and buildings.  The first in a two-part series, this webinar will share best practices from the more than 40 competitively selected state and local governments that participated...

Winter is here and so are the miserable utility bills associated with endlessly heating your home. Heating and cooling your home can account for as much as 48% of your utility bills . Fortunately, there is a host of ways to combat Old Man Winter.  Below you’ll find a list of energy efficient ideas to keep you and your family warm this season, whether you live in a house or an apartment. Install a Programmable Thermostat If you haven’t already, installing a programmable thermostat is a very easy way to make sure temperatures in the home fluctuate correctly based on the schedule of inhabitants. Remember, HVAC systems heat people, not rooms. Be sure to program your thermostat to cut back 10 to 15 degrees when people aren’t home during the day. Turning back your thermostat for 8 hours can save as much at 10% a year on your heating bill. Perform...

The Energy Department today recognized 25 winners across the federal government as recipients of the 2014 Federal Energy and Water Management Awards. These annual awards highlight exceptional federal agency efforts for improving the nation’s energy, water, aviation and vehicle fleets.  Each winner deployed cutting-edge practices that will significantly cut carbon pollution, protect the environment and strengthen national security. Through their dedicated efforts, these leaders – serving in the U.S. Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, and Navy; the Departments of Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Interior, Transportation, and Veterans Affairs; the General Services Administration; and the Tennessee Valley Authority – saved 4.2 trillion British Thermal Units (Btu) of energy, nearly 1.3 billion gallons of water and more than $115.8 million during the 2013 fiscal year. The energy savings alone are equivalent to removing 56,800 cars from the road or eliminating the average energy use of more than 47,000 households annually....

Thanksgiving is over. The holiday decorations are up and shoppers are swarming the stores. While your thoughts may be on the list of gifts you need to buy, here at Energy Saver we've been busy making a list of a different sort. Using these energy-efficient tips will not only protect the planet, but will keep holiday cheer alive by saving you energy and money. Shopping Thousands of paper and plastic bags end up in landfills energy year. Rather than adding to the number, shop with reusable cloth bags. This reduces waste and allows for sturdier transportation of your gifts (trust me I've ripped enough plastic bags, breaking gifts and spilling new clothes onto dirty snow, to have learned my lesson). If you don't plan to use cloth bags, try to consolidate your purchases into as few bags as possible. Also remember to unload your car after shopping trips. Adding an extra...

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My family moved into a new home a few months ago, and as the seasons have changed, we've been learning a great deal about how to stay comfortable in our new environment. I've been working on Energy Saver for a long time, and I thought I knew all the ins-and-outs of keeping our home comfortable while saving money and energy. What I've learned, though, is that I knew what to do in our old house, but different homes require different considerations—especially when it comes to preparing for cold winter weather . It can be difficult to make permanent changes immediately after a move, but we've found that small steps improve comfort while we learn about and prioritize our larger needs. While our new home is about the same size as our old one, the layout and characteristics are very different. Our previous house was a simple ranch home, was relatively new...

EERE offers webinars to the public on a range of subjects, from adopting the latest energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies, to training for the clean energy workforce. Webinars are free; however, advanced registration is typically required. You can also watch archived webinars and browse previously aired videos, slides, and transcripts. Upcoming Webinars December 3: Live Webinar on Buildings of the Future Research Project Launch and Virtual Panel Discussion on Building Technology Trends Webinar Sponsors: Building Technologies Office , Pacific Northwest National Laboratory , American Society of Mechanical Engineers The Energy Department will present a live webinar titled “Buildings of the Future Research Project Launch and Virtual Panel Discussion on Building Technology Trends” on Wednesday, December 3, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. The webinar will launch the Buildings of the Future Research project and provide guidance for how building technology practitioners, academics, and researchers can shape our...