Links: DOE Energy Saving MoneyCentral REWilliams Energy Federation Wholesale Solar ecodirect FUEL DMSolar Instructables SportsmansGuide SolarTown Lowes Walmart Amazon Emissions Exchange Ebay WindBluePower Technology Library Free Cooling Waste Oil Heater Drain Heat Recovery Attic Foil 13 Free or Cheap Ways To Keep Your Home Cool This Summer Advanced Energy - crawspaces.org BuilditSolar.com

Exterior: Energy Generation:  The south is perfect for solar panels. You can add 300 Watts at a time for as little as $700 including the tie-grid inverter  on Ebay now. . That was with shipping for 3 Sun 100Watt Panels at $200 each Plus a 300Watt Grid Tie Inverter. Best of all, you can start with just 1 Panel and the Inverter for an initial cost of just $300 and add on as you can afford it. If you get 3 200 Watt Panels and a 600 Watt Inverter, it is even cheaper PER WATT! Heat Generation:  Solar collectors are expensive. Myth. Check out  THIS EBAY SELLER .   Get two similar collectors, have one outside, one inside, connect with insulated pipe, fill with 50/50. As long as the one outside is lower than the one inside, heat will flow inside. Shipping and materials might cost you $300. Also, check out  THIS SITE  for plans to build a solar collector panel for $150!  Heat Transfer:  Look into Geothermal Heat Pumps. By moving the heat into a medium of constant temperature, the heatpum

Interior: Climate Control:  Invest in a programmable Smart Thermostat. It will keep your house comfortable and your electric bill low. Lights:  Replace your incandescent lights with CFL. Save 60 - 80 watts per light bulb. They also produce that much less heat. LED lights are even better. Water:  The less you use, the less you have to heat. The more money you save. Look at  this  and  this . I mentioned Hybrid water heaters earlier and wanted to reiterate that  Hybrid Hot Water Heaters  use 60% LESS energy than standard element heaters. Heat Recovery systems give you hot water using waste heat from your air conditioner/heatpump like  THIS  one. 

Exterior: Windows:  Obviously triple pane is best, BUT that can get expensive. Simply adding  storm windows  is adding another layer. You get the same R-Value as if you had double or triple pane with an added benefit. If a storm window breaks, its $40 for a WHOLE window, MUCH cheaper than replacing or fixing your standard window. The best color for a window is white. Roof:  The one thing most people never acknowledge is that the best color for a roof to be is WHITE. If you want to paint (coat) it white with a Hydrated Lime and water mortar, go ahead, for less than $100 you can coat your entire roof. Barring that, choose the BRIGHTEST shade shingle you can stand. DIY examples  HERE.   Walls:  AGAIN, WHITE, especially in the south. If you have a brick house and want to go white, consider wrapping the house in standard or preferably aluminized house wrap, then install vinyl siding, the extra layer of insulation will keep the brick from absorbing heat all day long and then dumping i

Interior: Appliances:  Appliances generate heat, so make sure you have energy star rated appliances. Make Sure your refrigerator door has a good seal.  Hybrid Hot Water Heaters  actually take heat from the air and use it to heat your water, so its a win win situation. If your hot water heater is warm to the touch, go get some  water heater wrap . If you have a window air conditioner, make sure the window is sealed. The plastic adjustable side panels don't work well at all, use aluminum foil and duct tape to make an air and radiant heat seal. You can then cover with a folded pillow case to make it look like a drape. Works and looks great. Check the space between the bottom window and top window, on some older windows, when the bottom window is open to allow for the air conditioner, there is an air space at the top of the bottom window, if there is, seal it. Consider using your microwave and toaster oven instead of your full size oven and range. Saves energy too.  Dryer Vent:  A

Attic: Vents:  Your choices are gable, turbine, powered, or ridge. Most homes now are built with an ridge vent at the top of the roof, but the other vents are still in use. All that matters is that there is sufficient airflow to keep your attic within 20 degrees of the outside air. If it is 70 outside and 90 in your attic, you probably have enough airflow, but if its higher than that, you need to firstly check the intake vents along the underside of your eaves. Blow compressed air in them from the outside to clear any obstructions(usually blow-in insulation). If the vents are clear, you want to add a  powered attic fan . You can use the wired kind or the more expensive solar powered versions, either way, 20 degrees is the target. Most powered fans come with a thermostat set to turn on at 90 degrees F. Here's an expert from an HVAC forum. The rule with attic ventilation is 1 : 300 with a vapor barrier and 1 : 150 without a vapor barrier. So if you had insulation in the attic wit