Housing accounts for 20% of total US energy use with heating and cooling consuming a whopping 44% of residential energy use. US Energy Information Administration predicts heating oil, electricity, and natural gas will cost 2% to 10% more this winter.

Brought about by high fuel costs, single-family homes built with environmentally friendly features surged to 16% last year from 2% in 2006 according to McGraw-Hill Construction, a market research firm in New York. The cost of green homes are approximately 2% to 10% higher than a typical home.

Roadmap to lowering home’s energy cost

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Just in case you have not joined the wave.  Replacing incandescent light bulbs with Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs or CFLs can save you lots of money. 90% of energy used by traditional incandescent lightbulbs is wasted as heat.

How Energy Efficient?

How does a regular incandescent bulb compare to a compact fluorescent one? CFL’s use about 66% less energy and last about 10x longer. The estimated amount of savings is up to $39 over the life of the CFL. PG&E advertises that replacing a 100 watt incandescent bulb with a 25-watt CFL will save at least $90 in energy costs over the life of the bulb. A typical house may have over 60 light bulbs.

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