Some climate solutions are glamorous. Shimmering solar arrays and high speed rail grab plenty of headlines. Some are much less so. No one’s going to have a ribbon-cutting ceremony when you replace your HVAC filter or air dry your clothes, but making sure your home runs as efficiently as possible in dozens of ways—both small and large—can add up to big change. Dialing down our energy use is one of the most straightforward and important things individuals can do to fight back against the climate crisis. After all, residential energy use accounts for around 20% of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. 1
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We’re not even talking about fully decarbonizing your household—though taking steps in that direction is important. Unless you generate your own juice, your home’s really only as “green” as the grid it’s plugged into. That means even a fully electric household should be mindful of how much power it uses up. The task of making your home efficient is doable even if you’re a renter, have limited funds, or just have zero clue where to get started.
This guide includes our best tips, tricks, and hacks for everyone—from beginners to DIY fiends to passive house enthusiasts—to get going on their energy-saving journey. Keep scrolling to go in depth, and download our quick-glance guide below.
Energy in the U.S.–and in your home–explained
The planet-warming impacts of keeping our homes running largely boil down to where our energy comes from. Around three-quarters of homes in the U.S. tap into two or more sources—for most of them, that’s electricity and natural gas. Nearly 60% of U.S. residences use natural gas hookups for space and water heating, cooking, and drying clothes.2 For electricity, the vast majority of us tap “retail,” or juice bought from a utility company.
What creates this electricity varies from location to location. The most recent data shows that fossil fuels make up around 60% of electricity production across the country, and most of that comes from (guess what!) natural gas. But renewables are edging into the race, making up 21.7% of electricity generation in 2023, eclipsing both coal and nuclear.3
Your personal window into the grid is your electricity bill, which shows us how much a home uses in a given billing cycle. Depending on your electricity provider—and whether you have a choice as to which company that is—a bill could include separate charges for generating, supplying the electricity (transmission), and distributing it to you.
GO DEEPER ABOUT ENERGY AND ELECTRICITY IN THE U.S.
- What you need to know about the power grid
- What energy sources power U.S. homes
- Your electricity bill, explained
- What uses the most electricity in a house
Energy efficiency in heating and cooling
The biggest household energy drains—and therefore the greatest potential gains—center on how you keep your home at a comfy temperature. Appliances that handle heating and cooling (which includes water heating) account for around 43% of the electricity consumed by residential users.4 Luckily, there are an abundance of ways to keep your home livable without racking up a massive bill—and sending fossil fuel–related emissions skyrocketing.
One of the best ways is to ensure your home isn’t sending all that hard-earned climate control out the window. Insulation and air sealing are your best bets for improvement. Insulation acts as a sweater for your home and traps thermal energy (that’s heat), whereas air sealing is like a windbreaker that ensures all the tiny holes through which air can escape are plugged up. A professional home energy auditor can help with getting to the bottom of what your pad needs.
Once your home is properly buttoned up, then the most energy efficient upgrade is often a heat pump. Instead of using combustion to make its own heat the way a conventional furnace does, a heat pump moves warmth from outside to inside, or vice versa depending on the season. (Yup, it’s also an air conditioner.) The only power it needs to do this is what runs a compressor and fans. While this can be a pricey upgrade, heat pumps can be up to four times more efficient than the alternatives.
But the road doesn’t stop there—nor does it require any big upgrades. Everything from the color you paint your roof to how you maintain your ceiling fans can make your home more comfortable without cranking the thermostat.
GO DEEPER ABOUT ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN HEATING AND COOLING
- Why you should get a home energy audit
- Efficiency upgrades that even renters can take on
- How to keep cool in the summer, without blasting the AC
- How to stay warm in the winter, without cranking the heat
- The basics of ceiling fan maintenance
- A beginner’s guide to energy-efficient insulation
- What you need to know about air-sealing your home
- The basics of cool roofs
- How landscaping can save energy
- Considering a heat pump? Read this first.
- What the heck is smart glass?
- How to apply the principles of passive homes to your house
Optimizing your appliances
Our homes are full of energy-sucking devices. After heating and cooling, lighting, refrigerators, televisions, and clothes dryers fill out the list of home energy hogs. These are fortunately spots where some of the fixes can be dead-simple. Take, for example, swapping out your light bulbs for longer-lasting and more efficient LEDs and air-drying your clothes instead of revving up the dryer. In other cases, the updates may take a bit more time and cash, such as installing an induction cooktop or trading out your old fridge and washing machine for Energy Star–approved models. This is yet another place where a home energy audit can help determine which areas and appliances may need a little face-ift.
GO DEEPER ABOUT ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND APPLIANCES
- What the heck is Energy Star?
- How to make your laundry routine more efficient
- What you need to know about switching to an induction cooktop
- How LEDs compare to CFLs and incandescent bulbs
- Why you should get a home energy audit
Generating (and storing) your own electricity
If you’re looking to go even further, it could be time to consider bringing renewable energy home in a very literal way. We’re talking rooftop solar. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, 7% of homes in the U.S. have solar, and by 2030, this number is expected to more than double.5 Paneling up your roof has a host of benefits—including, importantly, dialing down your reliance on fossil-fueled electricity—but it might not be right for everyone. There are economic, structural, and utility-company considerations to weigh before taking the plunge.
Same goes for home battery storage. According to Fortune Business Insights, the global residential backup market could nearly double by 2032, but this option isn’t necessarily a must-have.6
GO DEEPER INTO ROOFTOP SOLAR AND HOME BATTERIES
- Considering solar? Ask yourself these questions first.
- How to know if a home battery makes sense for you
Rebates and tax credits
Many efficiency upgrades and updates can be expensive. But recent policy changes have made it more affordable for Americans to invest. The Inflation Reduction Act includes a range of tax credits that can reduce costs for a range of updates, including doors, windows, insulation, air sealing, home energy auditing, heat pumps, battery storage, solar panels, solar water heaters, and electric vehicle charging equipment.
For eligible upgrades, homeowners can receive credits worth up to 30% of their cost outlays. Bigger projects, like heat pumps and solar panels, might even be eligible for larger savings. Check out our guides below for more details on applicable technologies and upgrades—including a handy searchable chart.
GO DEEPER ABOUT ENERGY EFFICIENCY TAX CREDITS
- A complete guide to home energy tax incentives
- Explore tax incentives for heat pumps
- Explore tax incentives for rooftop solar
- The Carbon Footprint of Household Energy Use in the United States, PNAS, July 2020 ↩︎
- Monthly Energy Review, U.S. Energy Information Administration, Jul. 2024 ↩︎
- Electric Power Monthly, U.S. Energy Information Administration, May 2024 ↩︎
- Ibid. ↩︎
- Solar Market Insight Report 2023 Year in Review, Solar Energy Industries Association, Mar. 2024 ↩︎
- Residential Backup Power Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Technology (Generator, Battery, and Fuel Cells), and Regional Forecast, 2024-2032, Fortune Business Insights, Aug. 2024 ↩︎