50 Ways to Make Your Home More Energy Efficient

The 50 ways below are grouped by where a house actually spends its energy, and the big-ticket upgrades are timed to when your equipment would need replacing anyway. Savings figures come from the U.S. Department of Energy, ENERGY STAR, the Energy Information Administration, a national laboratory, or independent efficiency researchers.

You’ll also find the order to do the work in (sealing comes before insulating, and both come before replacing equipment), the safety checks that matter before you tighten up an older house, and where federal tax credits stand now that they’ve ended for most home projects.

One more thing up front: most of these 50 projects need nothing more than a free afternoon. A few, like attic insulation, go smoother with an empty attic, and we’ll get to when it makes sense to move things out and when it doesn’t.

Table of Contents

1. Where Your Home’s Energy Actually Goes
2. Before You Start: The Order of Operations and Four Safety Checks
3. Free Changes You Can Make Today (Ways 1 to 10)
4. Air Sealing and Insulation (Ways 11 to 20)
5. Heating, Cooling, and Ductwork (Ways 21 to 28)
6. Water Heating (Ways 29 to 33)
7. Windows, Shade, and Sun (Ways 34 to 38)
8. Appliances, Electronics, and Lighting (Ways 39 to 45)
9. Big-Ticket Upgrades, Timed to Replacement (Ways 46 to 50)
10. What Happened to the Federal Tax Credits
11. Frequently Asked Questions
12. Clearing the Attic for Insulation Work: The Box Math
13. When Renting Storage Makes Sense for an Energy Project, and When It Doesn’t
14. The Short Version

Where Your Home’s Energy Actually Goes

The Energy Information Administration’s 2020 Residential Energy Consumption Survey is the most detailed federal picture of household energy use. Its headline finding is simple: space heating and air conditioning together took 52% of the average home’s annual energy. Water heating, lighting, and refrigeration took another 25% combined. Everything else, from TVs and laptops to clothes dryers and cooking, made up the remaining 23%.

Heating alone was the largest single use, at 42% of residential energy. But the split depends heavily on climate. Air conditioning accounted for 9% of site energy nationally, 28% in Florida, and just 2% in Maine. Where you live changes which projects come first.

Climate also changes how much the biggest projects pay. ENERGY STAR estimates that air sealing plus attic and floor insulation saves an average of 15% on heating and cooling, or 11% of the total energy bill. Broken out by climate zone, the total-bill savings look like this:

• Zone 1 (South Florida, Hawaii): about 5% of the total bill
• Zone 2 (Gulf Coast, much of Texas and Florida): about 6%
• Zone 3 (much of the Carolinas, Georgia, Arkansas, North Texas): about 8%
• Zones 4 and 5 (mid-Atlantic, Tennessee, Missouri, Illinois, Colorado’s lower elevations): about 12%
• Zone 6 (upper Midwest and northern New England): about 14%

The same attic project returns about twice as much in Wisconsin as it does on the Gulf Coast. That doesn’t make it a bad idea in Houston; it changes where it falls in line. In hot climates, shading, attic air sealing, and duct sealing do more of the work. In cold ones, insulation and heating equipment do. Your climate zone is on ENERGY STAR’s insulation map by county, and it’s worth looking up before you spend anything.

Before You Start: The Order of Operations and Four Safety Checks

Building scientists at the Department of Energy’s Building America program recommend a sequence for home improvements, and it runs opposite to how most people shop. Fix the building shell first, then the systems inside it:

1. Assess: find out where the house is actually leaking and what it’s insulated with.
2. Seal: close air leaks, especially into the attic and crawl space.
3. Insulate: add insulation over the sealed surfaces, never before.
4. Fix the ducts: seal and insulate ductwork in unconditioned spaces.
5. Replace equipment when it fails: size the new furnace, heat pump, or water heater for the tighter house you now have.

The order matters because each step changes the next one. Insulation laid over unsealed gaps lets air carry heat straight through it. A heating system sized for a leaky house will be oversized for a sealed one, which costs more up front and runs less efficiently.

Tightening an older home also changes how air moves through it, so check these four things before sealing or insulating an attic:

• Combustion appliances. ENERGY STAR warns that sealing can cause naturally venting gas or oil appliances to backdraft exhaust into the house. If you have a furnace, boiler, or water heater that vents up a chimney, have a professional test it before and after the work, and make sure you have working carbon monoxide alarms.
• Vermiculite insulation. Loose, pebbly, gray-brown attic insulation may be vermiculite, which can contain asbestos. EPA’s guidance is to leave it undisturbed and call a professional. It also advises against storing boxes in the attic if retrieving them would disturb the material.
• Old wiring and light fixtures. Knob-and-tube wiring must be replaced or properly boxed before insulation goes over it, and recessed lights must be rated for insulation contact or covered with an approved enclosure.
• Radon. After reducing air leaks, EPA recommends testing for radon, since a tighter house exchanges less air with the outdoors.

None of these are reasons to skip the work. They’re reasons to do it in order and, for anything involving combustion or vermiculite, with a professional.

Free Changes You Can Make Today

These cost nothing and target the biggest line items: heating, cooling, and hot water.

1. Set the thermostat back 7 to 10 degrees while you sleep or are away

DOE estimates you can save as much as 10% a year on heating and cooling by turning the thermostat back 7°F to 10°F for eight hours a day. Recovering from a setback doesn’t cancel the savings. The exception is a heat pump: deep setbacks can trigger its expensive electric backup heat, so use smaller setbacks or a thermostat designed for heat pumps.

2. Use ceiling fans so you can raise the air conditioning setpoint

DOE says a ceiling fan lets you raise the thermostat about 4°F with no loss of comfort. In summer, the blades should spin counterclockwise as you look up, pushing air down.

3. Reverse the fans in winter and turn them off in empty rooms

In cold months, run fans clockwise on low to push warm air off the ceiling without creating a draft. Fans cool people, not rooms, so a fan running in an empty room only adds to the bill.

4. Leave the vents in unused rooms open

A Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory study found that closing supply registers raised duct pressure and duct leakage enough to increase total energy use. Closing most of a home’s registers can also restrict airflow to the point of creating equipment problems.

5. Clear furniture, rugs, and drapes away from supply and return vents

Blocked returns starve the system of air, and blocked supplies dump conditioned air behind the sofa. Give every register a clear path.

6. Lower the water heater to 120°F

Many tanks ship set to 140°F. DOE says most households only need 120°F, and a tank kept at 140°F can waste $36 to $61 a year in standby heat loss alone, plus scald risk. Check your dishwasher manual first; some models without a booster heater call for hotter supply water.

7. Wash clothes in cold water

ENERGY STAR estimates that heating water accounts for about 90% of the energy a clothes washer uses. Unless you’re fighting oily stains, cold water and a cold-water detergent do the job.

8. Run the dishwasher full and skip the heated dry

DOE puts the cost of washing dishes by hand at about $40 a year more than running a full dishwasher. Scrape instead of pre-rinsing under hot water, and let dishes air-dry.

9. Work your window coverings with the sun

In summer, close blinds and curtains on south- and west-facing windows during the day. In winter, open south-facing coverings on sunny days to let the sun in, and close them at night.

10. Set the refrigerator to 35°F to 38°F and the freezer to 0°F

Those are DOE’s recommended settings. Colder than that wastes energy without keeping food any safer. A cheap appliance thermometer tells you what the dial actually means.

Air Sealing and Insulation

This is the group with the biggest payoff for most houses, and the one where order matters most. Seal first, insulate second.

11. Get a home energy assessment with a blower door test

A blower door depressurizes the house so an assessor can find leaks you can’t feel. Many utilities subsidize assessments, so check your utility’s efficiency page before paying full price. The report gives you a ranked to-do list for your specific house.

12. Seal the attic floor first

The largest leaks usually run into the attic: gaps around plumbing vents, wiring holes, chimney chases, duct boots, and the tops of interior walls. ENERGY STAR’s savings estimates focus on these attic and foundation leaks. Caulk small gaps, use foam for larger ones, and use fire-rated materials around flues and chimneys.

13. Weatherstrip and insulate the attic hatch or pull-down stairs

An uninsulated attic hatch is effectively a hole in your ceiling. Add weatherstripping around the opening and a rigid foam or insulated cover on top of the hatch or stair unit.

14. Check your attic insulation against your climate zone

ENERGY STAR’s retrofit targets for an uninsulated attic are R30 in zone 1, R49 in zones 2 and 3, and R60 in zones 4 through 8. If you already have 3 to 4 inches, the targets are R25, R38, and R49 respectively. If you can see the tops of your ceiling joists, you almost certainly need more.

15. Add insulation only after the attic is sealed

Blown-in cellulose or fiberglass over a sealed attic floor is the classic combination. Keep insulation clear of soffit vents with baffles, and keep it away from flues and any fixtures not rated for insulation contact.

16. Weatherstrip exterior doors and add door sweeps

If you can see daylight around a closed door, air is moving through it. Replace compressed weatherstripping and add a sweep or adjustable threshold at the bottom.

17. Seal the door between an attached garage and the house

This door separates your living space from an unconditioned room that holds car exhaust and stored chemicals. Weatherstrip it fully and confirm it closes tight. It’s an efficiency fix and an air quality fix at once.

18. Caulk window and baseboard trim, and gasket exterior-wall outlets

Gaps behind trim and around electrical boxes on outside walls add up. Clear caulk handles trim joints. Inexpensive foam gaskets fit behind outlet and switch covers in minutes.

19. Close the fireplace damper when there’s no fire

An open damper is a chimney-sized leak. If you rarely use the fireplace, an inflatable chimney balloon or a tight-fitting damper upgrade stops the draft. Remove it before you light a fire.

20. Seal rim joists and insulate floors over crawl spaces

Where the house framing sits on the foundation, the rim joist is often bare and leaky. Seal it with foam, then insulate. ENERGY STAR’s floor recommendations over unconditioned spaces run from R13 in the warmest zone to R30 and higher in the coldest.

Heating, Cooling, and Ductwork

Since heating and cooling take more than half the average home’s energy, small efficiency gains here move the bill more than big gains elsewhere.

21. Change the HVAC filter on schedule

A clogged filter makes the blower work harder and can reduce airflow over the coils. Check it monthly during heavy-use seasons and replace it at least as often as the manufacturer recommends.

22. Schedule a tune-up before each heating and cooling season

A technician can clean coils, check refrigerant charge, test safety controls, and catch failing parts before a peak-season breakdown. For combustion furnaces, ask them to check venting and carbon monoxide at the same visit.

23. Seal leaky ductwork in attics, crawl spaces, and garages

ENERGY STAR estimates that in a typical house, 20% to 30% of the air moving through the duct system is lost to leaks, holes, and poorly connected sections. Seal accessible joints with mastic or foil tape. ENERGY STAR specifically warns against ordinary cloth duct tape, which doesn’t last.

24. Insulate ducts that run through unconditioned space

A sealed duct in a hot summer attic still gains heat through its walls. Once ducts are sealed, wrap them with duct insulation so the air arrives at the temperature you paid for.

25. Shade the outdoor unit without blocking it

DOE notes that an air conditioner operating in the shade uses less electricity. Plant shrubs or a tree to shade the condenser, but leave clear space around it for airflow and service access.

26. Install a smart thermostat

ENERGY STAR estimates certified smart thermostats save households about 8% on heating and cooling on average. The savings come from automating the setbacks in Way 1. If you have a heat pump, choose a model that manages its backup heat.

27. Use a ductless mini-split for the room that never stays comfortable

A bonus room over the garage or a sunroom often fights the whole system. Rather than cranking the main thermostat, a small ductless heat pump conditions that room alone.

28. Run kitchen and bath exhaust fans only as long as you need them

Exhaust fans matter for clearing cooking fumes and shower steam, so use them. But a fan left running for hours pulls conditioned air out of the house. A timer switch on the bath fan solves both problems.

Water Heating

After heating and cooling, the water heater is typically the largest energy user in the home. Way 6 lowered the temperature. These five reduce what’s lost and what’s used.

29. Insulate accessible hot water pipes

DOE says insulated pipes can deliver water 2°F to 4°F hotter than bare ones, which lets you keep the tank setting lower. Foam pipe sleeves slip on by hand. Prioritize the first several feet of pipe leaving the tank.

30. Insulate an older tank, following the manufacturer’s instructions

On an older storage water heater, DOE estimates an insulating jacket can cut standby heat losses by 25% to 45%, saving roughly 4% to 9% on water heating. Newer tanks are often well insulated already, and some manufacturers advise against jackets, so check the label first. On gas units, never cover the top, the burner access, or the controls.

31. Install WaterSense showerheads and faucet aerators

Every gallon of hot water you don’t use is a gallon you don’t pay to heat. Showerheads carrying EPA’s WaterSense label are tested for both lower flow and acceptable spray performance, so you aren’t trading comfort for savings.

32. Fix dripping hot water faucets

A drip on the hot side wastes water and the energy that heated it, around the clock. A new washer or cartridge is usually a short, inexpensive repair.

33. Use vacation mode when you travel

Many water heaters have a vacation setting that holds the tank at a low temperature while you’re gone. If yours doesn’t, turn the thermostat down before a trip of several days and back up when you return.

Windows, Shade, and Sun

Windows are where most people want to start, and replacing them is usually the most expensive way to fix them. These five come first.

34. Hang cellular shades or insulated window coverings

Cellular shades trap air in honeycomb pockets and add a meaningful layer of insulation to a window, especially when they fit snugly in the frame. They’re a fraction of the cost of new windows and help in both summer and winter.

35. Shade south and west windows from the outside

Stopping sunlight before it reaches the glass beats blocking it indoors. DOE estimates awnings can reduce summer solar heat gain by up to 65% on south-facing windows and 77% on west-facing windows. In hot climates, this is one of the most effective cooling fixes available.

36. Plant deciduous trees on the south and west sides

DOE’s landscaping guidance: tall deciduous trees with spreading crowns to the south shade the roof in summer and drop their leaves to let winter sun through. Trees with lower crowns work best to the west, where the late-afternoon sun comes in low. Keep dense evergreens off the south side if you want winter sun.

37. Add storm windows or interior panels to single-pane windows

If you have older single-pane windows you aren’t ready to replace, exterior storm windows, interior insert panels, or even ENERGY STAR’s plastic-film method add a second layer and an insulating air gap for a small share of replacement cost.

38. Apply solar-control film to hot west-facing glass

In hot climates, a spectrally selective window film reduces heat gain on the windows that bake every afternoon. In cold climates, skip it on south-facing windows, where you want the winter sun.

Appliances, Electronics, and Lighting

These end uses are smaller individually, but they run every day of the year regardless of the weather.

39. Unplug or recycle the second refrigerator

EIA’s survey found 34% of U.S. homes had two or more refrigerators. DOE notes that a second fridge in a garage or basement is often an older model costing more than $100 a year to run, and a hot garage makes it work harder. If it mostly holds drinks, it may not be worth keeping. Many utilities offer free pickup and recycling.

40. Clean the refrigerator coils and check the door seals

Dusty condenser coils make the compressor run longer. Vacuum them once or twice a year. Close the door on a dollar bill; if it slides out easily, the gasket needs attention.

41. Put entertainment and office equipment on smart power strips

DOE estimates standby power, the electricity devices draw while “off,” accounts for 5% to 10% of residential energy use and can cost a household as much as $100 a year. A smart strip cuts power to the TV, console, and speakers when the main device shuts off.

42. Clean the dryer lint screen every load, and line-dry when you can

A clean screen and clear exhaust vent shorten drying time and reduce fire risk. Check that the outdoor vent flap opens freely. For lighter loads and in good weather, a drying rack or clothesline costs nothing to run.

43. Replace appliances with ENERGY STAR models when the old ones wear out

Don’t scrap a working appliance to save energy unless it’s very old. When you do replace one, compare the yellow EnergyGuide labels, which show estimated yearly operating cost, alongside the purchase price.

44. Swap any remaining incandescent and halogen bulbs for LEDs

DOE says residential LEDs, especially ENERGY STAR models, use at least 75% less energy and last up to 25 times longer than incandescent bulbs. Many homes have already made the switch. If yours hasn’t finished, start with the fixtures you use the most hours each day.

45. Add motion sensors, timers, or photocells to outdoor and closet lights

Porch, garage, and landscape lights often burn all night. A photocell or motion sensor turns them on only when needed, and occupancy switches keep closet and pantry lights from running for days unnoticed.

Big-Ticket Upgrades, Timed to Replacement

These five cost thousands, so the best time to do them is when the old equipment, windows, or roof would need replacing anyway. Doing them after the sealing and insulation work above also means you can buy smaller.

46. When the HVAC system fails, get a load calculation and consider a heat pump

Ask any contractor quoting new equipment for a room-by-room load calculation (often called a Manual J) based on your house as it is now, not the tonnage of the old unit. A house you’ve sealed and insulated may need a smaller system. If you heat with electric resistance, a heat pump is the biggest single upgrade available. Estimates of the savings vary: DOE’s Energy Saver guidance has put the reduction in heating electricity at anywhere from about half to about three-quarters over the years, and an ACEEE analysis of nearly 2,000 homes found a little over half on average. Cold-climate models now extend the range into northern winters.

47. When the water heater fails, look at a heat pump water heater, or tankless if your use is low

DOE says heat pump water heaters can be two to three times as efficient as conventional electric resistance models. They need space and cool the room around them, which is a bonus in a hot Southern garage. Tankless models make sense in narrower cases: DOE estimates they’re 24% to 34% more efficient for homes using 41 gallons of hot water a day or less, but only 8% to 14% more efficient for homes using around 86 gallons.

48. Replace windows only when they’re single-pane or failing

ENERGY STAR estimates that replacing old windows with certified ones lowers household energy bills by an average of 12%. New windows earn their place when the old ones are single-pane, rotted, or fogged between panes. Otherwise, Ways 34 to 37 deliver more savings per dollar.

49. Choose a cool roof when it’s time to reroof

Light-colored or reflective roofing absorbs less of the sun’s heat, which lowers attic temperatures and cooling loads. It pays most in hot climates where cooling costs outweigh heating, and it costs little extra when you’re replacing the roof anyway.

50. Size solar to the house you have after efficiency work

Solar panels generate electricity rather than save it, so they belong at the end of the list. Every kilowatt-hour you cut first is one you don’t need panels to produce, which can shrink the system you buy. Get quotes after the efficiency work is done, and have an installer assess shading, roof orientation, and the age of your roof before committing.

What Happened to the Federal Tax Credits

Public Law 119-21, signed July 4, 2025, ended both of the main federal homeowner credits early:

• Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit (Section 25C): not allowed for property placed in service after December 31, 2025. It covered items such as insulation, windows, doors, heat pumps, and home energy audits.
• Residential Clean Energy Credit (Section 25D): not allowed for expenditures made after December 31, 2025. It covered solar, battery storage, and geothermal systems.

The IRS explains the transition rules in Fact Sheet 2025-05. Projects completed in 2025 may still be claimable on a 2025 return, and the timing rules differ between the two credits, so a tax professional should confirm how they apply to your situation.

Other incentives may still exist. Many utilities offer rebates on assessments, smart thermostats, heat pumps, and insulation, and some states run their own programs. Availability changes frequently, so check your utility’s efficiency page and your state energy office for what’s current where you live. Incentive amounts change, so confirm any figure with the program before you count on it.

Clearing the Attic for Insulation Work: The Box Math

Ways 12 through 15 all happen on the attic floor, and the crew needs to reach all of it. If your attic doubles as storage, everything on the joists comes out first. Our storage size calculator turns that pile into a unit size using a few simple assumptions: a medium moving box or standard tote is about 3 cubic feet, ceilings are 8 feet, and about 75% of a unit’s volume is usable once you leave room to stack safely and reach things. Run those numbers and you get:

• 5x5 unit: 25 square feet × 8 feet = 200 cubic feet, × 0.75 = about 150 usable cubic feet, or roughly 50 medium boxes and totes
• 5x10 unit: 400 cubic feet, about 300 usable, or roughly 100 boxes and totes
• 10x10 unit: 800 cubic feet, about 600 usable, or roughly 200 boxes and totes

Artificial trees, wreath boxes, and odd shapes eat space faster than this math suggests, so add them to the calculator as separate items, and size up if you’re close to a line.

Clearing the attic is also the best moment to decide what shouldn’t go back up. Holiday decorations in sealed totes, metal shelving, and luggage handle heat and cold well, and a standard unit is fine for them. Photographs, documents, candles, vinyl records, electronics, and wood furniture are the things attic temperature swings damage most. If those don’t have a spot in the house, a climate-controlled unit holds a steady temperature range year-round and protects against extreme temperatures. For a short contractor window with a modest load, a small unit is usually enough.

Timing helps too. Move boxes out a few days before the crew arrives so you aren’t hauling them the morning of the job, and label each one by where it goes afterward: back to the attic, into the house, or staying in storage. Rentals are month-to-month, so you can end the lease once the sorting is done.

When Renting Storage Makes Sense for an Energy Project, and When It Doesn’t

Most of the 50 ways on this list don’t involve moving anything. Thermostats, water heater settings, weatherstripping, duct sealing, fans, light bulbs, and appliance swaps need no extra space at all. Even for attic work, a storage unit is often the wrong answer. Skip it when:

• The attic holds a dozen bins or fewer. Stack them in a spare room or the garage for the day or two the crew is there. Paying for a unit to hold a few totes over a weekend doesn’t make sense.
• You’re planning to declutter anyway. Sort first and store second. Everything you sell or donate before the project is something you never have to carry, store, or bring back.
• The attic has vermiculite insulation. Get professional advice before moving anything up there. That’s a safety decision, not a storage one.
• Your belongings don’t need a steady temperature. Climate control uses more energy than a standard unit. As our own sustainability page says, tools, patio furniture, and sealed plastic bins do fine in a standard unit, which is the lower-energy choice.

Renting does make sense in a few situations. If your attic is the household’s main storage and there’s nowhere indoors to stage 40 or 60 boxes, a unit keeps the project moving. If you’ve decided temperature-sensitive keepsakes shouldn’t go back into the attic and the house has no room for them, they need a home. And if the energy work is part of a larger renovation, such as finishing a basement where rim joists get sealed or opening walls for insulation, clearing whole rooms is often unavoidable.