What are the most effective yet simple ways people can save energy?

I’ve taken simple steps and a few more ambitious ones.

Believe it or not, one of the best, easiest, and most rewarding things you can do to save energy is eat locally. The average item on the American dinner plate has traveled 1500 miles. I eat locally and love it. I eat fresher & tastier.

I drive less. Traffic sucks; I take public transport everywhere and love it. I get to read when I’m en route instead of cursing the traffic. I walk and bike a lot, too.

For energy usage at home, I’ve upgraded my insulation and turned the thermostat down a few degrees, it’s just as comfortable and cut the bill by 20%. I have a flash water heater and energy star appliances. I’ve changed all the light bulbs, of course, to CFB’s, but now there are CFB’s with nicer softer light, so try those. I have power strips for all appliances so I can easily unplug all my devices when I’m not around to eliminate drawing “vampire power”.

On the more ambitious side, I’m currently converting electricity and gas over to solar and wind power generated on site at home.

Ironically the most effective way to save energy is the simple way, don't leave your equipment on when not in use. Although I think that in today's society people really won't catch on till it's to late. It is to easy to leave everything on, and then complain about why the bill is high. Comparatively, electric bill is the one people are always talking about saving money on but in contrast to gas and water it is a easy bill to pay.

I work in fields where there are many gas wells, and they are drilling many more. The big issue now is that they have all this gas pressure, and no where to send it. Gas refineries and pipelines can't handle the volume. To me it is a little less supply and demand, and a little more greed. Although there is little you can do other than adjusting the thermostat on your heater and water heater, you can always get a more efficient heater, or a on-demand water heater.

Same thing, water bills are getting more and more expensive. If you look on your bill the actual water is cheap, it is all the other little things they charge you, that have nothing to do with water. I moved out of a town right before they doubled the bill to provide funding for a new water and sewer system. Saving on water is not always the problem when it comes to saving money. Most companies a lot you so much before they start charging you extra. I.E. they charge you X gallons of water whether you use it or not. However, it is always a good idea to fix those leaky valves, and not over-water your lawn.

All and all when you even do the littlest thing to save energy you do a great deal, you just don't see it as a reward when the bills come in the mail. Companies are trying to make as much money as possible, and unfortunately most of the time it doesn't include saving energy on the consumers' part

Saving energy effectively just takes a little effort and some good knowledge. You can save by turning the water heater down.... just a little makes a big difference. You can also buy energy saving light bulbs which are a TREMENDOUS help..(especially if you also remember to turn them off when not in use :) Wash and dry in the cool of the morning so your machines don't have to work so hard to do the job. If it is a sweltering day, don't open your blinds facing in the downward position. This allows the sun to beat the heat directly into your home. Make sure the weather stripping around your doors is up to par, and you can also have the double paned energy saving windows installed. This will cut the energy bill drastically. Keep your freezer and refrigerator set a little lower. You will still have cold food/drinks, but will save a lot of energy this way. Use your ceiling fans on low to circulate air throughout the house. When it is cold, be sure to push the switch up to blow the warm air down because heat rises.Gosh, I could go on and on but let me give someone else at least a piece of the page! I just love to share what I know works for me. Good luck, God bless and stay real. You are a cutie!

There are many, many ways to save energy. The ways that I use are:

1.) Turn off lighst during the day.

2.) Do not leave your computer on 24/7, but only on when you are actually using it.

3.) Unplug appliances that are not used regularly , for example: microwave.

4.) Where possible, use compact fluorescent light bulbs.

5.) In warm weather, the thermostat at home should be set at 78 degrees. (Don't do this, of course, if it will cause health problems for anyone in your family.)

6.) In cold weather, wear warm clothing and have your thermostat set to 68 degrees or lower during the day and evening, health permitting.

7.) Turn off your electric blanket when you aren't in bed.

8.) Drippy faucets are bad, too. A faucet that leaks enough water to fill a soda bottle every 30 minutes will waste 2,192 gallons of water a year.

9.) Another simple way to save water AND energy is to take shorter showers. You'll use less hot water - and water heaters account for nearly 1/4 of your home's energy use.

10.) Did you know that Americans use an average of about eight batteries a year per person? Wow!

11.) Turn off the toys and games (like GameBoys TM) that use batteries when you are not playing with them. That makes the batteries last longer, and you won't need as many of them.

12.) Buy rechargeable batteries and a recharger.

13.) If you only have a small lawn, consider getting a manual push mower. It doesn't use any energy except your own. Pushing the mower spins the rotating wheels, which spins the cutter. Consider it good exercise!

14.) Don't use an electric or gasoline leaf blower. Instead, use a rake.

The most effective yet simple ways people can save energy are:

Live close to work, school, family, friends, shopping, etc. so you don't need to use your vehicle all the time. When you do use your vehicle, you will just be able to make short trips and save fuel. And carpool! Use public transportation.

Another way is to turn down the heat in your home and dress more warmly. It doesn't take long to get acclimated. When you're out of the house, turn the temp down to 58.

Supplement air conditioning with ceiling fans and you'll be able to turn the A/C temperature up a couple of degrees.

Use an automatic thermostat to lower the temperature to 58 during the winter and 78 during the summer when you're not at home.

Change the air filters in the heating system.

Seal windows and other drafty areas to avoid heat loss.

Turn the temperature of the water heater down. There are devices available for electric water heaters to turn them off and back on only when you need hot water.

Don't wash clothing, especially in hot water, so frequently. (Some people change clothing two or three times a day and only were each change of clothing once).

There are many ways to save energy. This topic is brought up in my profession as a building engineer all of the time. For residential ideas the best way is to visit the website http://www.energystar.gov/ The most effective and probably best monetary long term return idea is replacing windows. The majority of energy (heating or cooling) is lost through building fenestration (windows and other openings). Do your research and understand what you are getting. Buying new windows does not fix anything...buying the right windows does. On that same note utilizing a windows abilty to transmit light is useful in the winter. Every window has a SHGF or Solar Heat Gain Factor. This is where the research comes into play. More heat gain equals less energy to heat your home which intern puts money in your pocket. The flip side to that is too much heat gain equaling more cooling in the summer. However, many manufactures have designed windows that will keep the sun out during the summer and allow for heat gain in the window. Not a magic trick acutally just applying a small amount of physics and taking advantage of where the sun is located in the sky during different times of the year. Hopefully my long and time filling explanation is still simple.

There is a light bulb that saves energy.

Keep the air conditioner at the same degree (stop changing it every other day).

Turn the light off when you leave a room.

Open the curtains! Natural light is the best.

Grill out as much as possible. This saves on the energy bill because you're not using the stove and the house doesn't get hot because you cooked outside!

Use solar lights in the yard. They're really better anyway because you don't have to worry about cutting a power cord with the weedeater.

Hope some of these help!

1) Turn off the lights when leaving the room.

Seriously, this would cut back on maybe 1/4 of the country's energy use. Ok, I can't substantiate that figure, but seriously...

My kids leave the house for school after I've already gone to work. I'll come home to a house full of lights on that have been on all day. Very frustrating.

2) I do have a programmable thermostat which is set to scale back the heating and cooling while noone is home.

3) Solar power is becoming more attainable for the masses as well.

4) Also, sealing windows and doors properly is a great way to weatherproof and conserve your energy use. You can get the stuff to do it for dirt cheap at Home Depot and any monkey can install it.

5) I use a product called Great Stuff for the cracks between wall and floor behind the baseboards. It really cuts down on drafts, especially in my daughter's room which is over the garage. I just used it while we were painting and the baseboards were off the wall already. Let everything dry and then re-install them. It also helps prevent pests from entering the house.

Be Amish.

But seriously... I've heard that unplugging your appliances saves electricity.

Using public transportation or bike more (you'll feel healthier if you do the latter).

Get some of those energy efficient bulbs.

Recycle. Compost.

Fill up on gas and mow the lawn after 6 pm.

Buy organic foods and goods

Do not buy styrofoam

Hybrid and energy efficient cars

Plant more trees

Get a dog (pretty much a good garbage disposal for food you don't want)

Keep the ac off until necessary, and the night before a really hot day turn it on so the unit doesn't have to work more to cool down a house rapidly.

Insulation

Storm windows

rechargeable batteries

Take short showers and avoid washing the car constantly.

Not sure if this answers the question correctly, but - Live simply and design for the future would be the most effective yet simple way to save energy.

Changing bulbs out, lowering temperatures, recycling, all great ideas. These are ideas to "fix" the problems as we are dealt them. We are saving energy with what we are being given. To be effective, we need to look toward the future design of how energy is supplied to us on all levels.

Look into independent renewable energy sources without giving up the luxuries that we all love. New construction (in general) should be used with all renewable resources. IE: Buildings can use solar power, be designed partially under the earth or use resources to build with that are energy efficient, incorporate more windows for light instead of artificial light, etc. From traffic lights, to cars, planes and trains, all this can use renewable resources.

We need to become a renewable society and not a throw away one on all levels. Yes, we could give up the car for a bike, yes we can turn off the ac, yes we can recycle, but until the "garbage being offered" changes, I don't see much else changing. Does that make sense?

I have almost given up because no one realises how bad the situation really is:

Consider that the CO2 problem which are currently facing came from the last few decades when there were just 2 Billion people with a lower percentage having a significant carbon footprint. Now we have over 6 Billion people and many more with a higher carbon footprint.

The message is not clear enough, the planet is in extremely big trouble. Forget terraforming other planets, the way we are going we will end up terraforming Earth into a second Venus.

The answer is not to turn off a few light bulbs and install a solar panel or two. The only answer is to somehow reduce the human poplation to under 1 Billion, and all with carbon neutral footprints to make up for past excesses. Then the deserts and the polar ice caps have to be reclaimed. Non carbon producing power plants have to be chosen instead of coal oil and natural gas.

These issues are very important and almost no one is taking them seriously enough. If drastic action is not taken in 50 years when they all realise what they have done, there will be pandemonium and totalitariansm and a total breakdown of civilisation.

WAKE UP NOW BEFORE ITS TOO LATE