Your Home Energy Cheat Sheet: Sustainable Practices You Can Start Now

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It's never too late to start implementing energy-sustaining practices around your home. Besides being good for the environment, cutting down on your energy usage and going green at home often has the added benefit of saving you money on utilities, too. 

Over the years, CNET's staff has written many articles providing extensive advice on green and solar energy, how to save that energy and how you can take steps to help reduce your environmental impact. We've compiled a cheat sheet full of our expert advice on all these topics, to help answer your most pressing energy-saving and home sustainability questions. 

For more green tips, try these eight ways to make your home a little more eco-friendly. And if you like this cheat sheet guide, you can also explore our solar cheat sheet and our home internet cheat sheet. 

What devices can help you save energy around the home?

Here at CNET, we've tested dozens of energy-saving devices over the years to help you figure out which is best for your needs. Here are our favorites:

• Best smart thermostats
• Best smart lights 
• Best smart plugs
• Best solar generators
• Best LED light bulbs
• Best LED floodlights
• Best solar panels
• Best portable power stations
• Best solar-powered home security cameras

Small changes you can make around the house to save energy (and money) 

• Start by turning off lights when you leave the room.
• Or making this small setting change to your thermostat to the ideal temperature that'll save energy.
• Or unplugging these home appliances to save electricity.
•  Spending less time in the shower can be a great way to save water.
• And skipping the bath for a shower instead can save a ton of water each year.
• To evaluate your home's energy efficiency, try weatherstripping.
  
• Install these energy-saving smart home gadgets.
• Use appliances during these specific times of day to cut down your electric bills.
• Move your thermostat.
• Try doing laundry the energy-efficient way to save electricity and water.

Summer is quickly approaching, and that can mean spiked energy use

Not only can trying to beat the brutal summer heat be tough on your wallet (costing on average between $75 and $175 per month to run a central air conditioning system), but it can also be a real drain on energy. Here are ways to save on AC usage.

• Try these six tips to lower air conditioning use and costs.
• And learn how to make your window AC unit more efficient. 
• Or you can adjust your ceiling fan setting to save energy. 

There are easy ways to go green in the kitchen, too

Families often spend a ton of time in the kitchen. While it's one of the centers of the home, it's also a major area for producing waste.

• If looking to make a major change, invest in Energy Star appliances.
• For a more minor environmentally friendly shift, you could always go meatless once a week.
• Or reuse food scraps to cut down on food waste.
• This might surprise you, but using an air fryer can save a ton of energy over using an oven.
• Slow cookers can also save on energy (and money) in the kitchen. 

Reduce, reuse, recycle. But please make sure you're doing it correctly

If you're trying to make your home more sustainable and reduce your environmental footprint, one of the first things you'll learn is to recycle. Recycling is an efficient way to manage the 139.6 million tons of waste that heads to US landfills every year. But it can be a helpful practice only if you actually do it right, which is sometimes not as easy as you may think.

• Of course, start properly recycling all your waste that can be recycled.
• But make sure you're recycling your plastics correctly.
• And your paper and cardboard.
• Next, focus on recycling those metal cans.
• And learn which takeout containers are recyclable (and which aren't).
• Once you've mastered recycling, you can move on to composting. 

For more eco-friendly tips, here's how you can lower your energy usage as a renter. You can also explore these sustainable products that make going green easier than ever in 2024, and these sustainable clothing brands. 

More sustainable tips and recs for you:

• The Best Places to Recycle Old Cables and Chargers
• Best Eco-Friendly iPhone 12 and 12 Pro Cases
• Go Greener With These Cool Eco-Friendly Products
• The Best Reusable Water Bottles
• Here's How You Know You're Buying an Energy-Efficient House