A family of 3 takes about 1,000 showers per year. Let’s say they are each 10 minutes long. With conventional showerheads using 19 litres (4 gallons) of water per minute, the annual hot water usage is 190,200 litres (about 42,000 gallons). Replace your conventional showerhead with a low-flow model rated at 9 litres (2 gallons) per minute, and the hot water use will be cut in half, saving 95,000 litres (21,000 gallons) annually. This will represent savings of between $100 and 200 per year, depending on where you live. Besides saving energy and money, the water savings are significant, conserving another valuable resource.

Choose ENERGY STAR rated models (check out EnergyStar.gov) and get the smallest appliance that meets your needs. Do you really need that over-sized freezer in the basement?

Studies have shown that the laundry equally clean, regardless of your washing machine’s rinse cycle is set to warm or cold. Except that the cold cycle uses a lot less power.

Buy recycled products – it takes less energy to produce them than new ones. Making recycled paper, for example, takes between 30 and 70% less energy than making paper from virgin sources. You also help reduce paper’s methane emissions when it rots in landfills, and methane is 20 times stronger than CO2 as a greenhouse gas.

Electronic programmable thermostats avoid the temperature fluctuations that conventional thermostats can’t detect. They will save you up to 10% on heating costs – you will recoup your investment in two to four years.