The first focus of anyone wanting to invest in Renewable Energy or cost savings on utilities should be conservation and efficiency.

Conservation involves changing your energy use behaviors from wasteful, inefficient habits (such as leaving on the lights when you leave a room) to energy-saving ones (turning off the lights every time you leave a room). This is a conscious choice—although you are using the same fixtures, you're making an effort to minimize your energy consumption.

Efficiency, on the other hand, is reducing energy consumption—without changing your lifestyle—by using efficient appliances. As energy efficiency expert Amory Lovins once said, energy efficiency is a "technical fix." Using the previous examples, the efficiency solution would be to swap out incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents (CFs), which only use about a quarter of the energy.

Both conservation and efficiency work hand in hand. Apply the basic principles of conservation and efficiency to all of your energy choices, before looking at harnessing renewable energy. It makes very little sense to put solar panels on your roof before you have CFs in your light fixtures.

Conservation and energy efficiency are low-hanging fruit, to be picked before moving forward with solar electricity or hot water systems. By reducing your energy demand, you will greatly reduce the cost of your renewable energy systems when you’re ready to have them installed. Every dollar you spend on efficiency measures will save you roughly $3 to $5 on your renewable energy system costs

Getting started is easier then you think. Make an inventory of energy-wise change that you can do that reaps the most benefits.

Here is a list to help you get started.

• You can purchase a kilowatt- hour meter to help you analyze each electrical component in your home.
• Change out common incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs. CFL’s use 75% less energy. This is the easiest energy saving opportunity available to home owners. You should also check the lumen rating to find the right CFL. The higher the lumen rating, the greater the light output. Consult the following chart to determine what CFL wattage is best to replace your incandescent light bulb:
  

   

  

   

• The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) estimates that setting your thermostat back 10 to 15 degrees Fahrenheit for 8 hours can shave about 1 percent off your utility bill. A programmable thermostat is useful for night time and while your away from home settings, it is better then having to adjust the settings manually.
• Bundle up the house, you can make a quick assessment of leakage by lighting a candle and then watching the flame flicker as you move it next to door and window frames. This is best done in the wintertime when leaks expand as building material contracts. Caulking and weather-stripping the gaps in your home probably offer the best use of your bucks in terms of home energy improvements. Check your insulation in your home’s attic, walls and floors. The DOE recommends in most regions that, at a minimum, attics be insulated to R-49, walls to R-18 and floors to R-25. Radiant barriers are installed in homes—most commonly in attics—to reduce summer heat gain and winter heat loss, which helps lower heating and cooling costs. The barriers consist of a highly reflective material that reflects radiant heat rather than absorbing it. Sealing and insulating ducts increases efficiency, lowers your energy bills, and can often pay for itself in energy savings.
• Using fans can be exceptionally helpful in keeping your house cool during transitional seasons, since running a fan draws just a tiny fraction of the power required to run an air conditioner. Saving energy in your home must start at the top. As warm air rises, it collects in the attic making your entire house hotter and your air conditioning less efficient. This costs you valuable dollars and unnecessary wear and tear on your cooling equipment, install an attic fan.
• Upgrading your appliances can pay for themselves over time. Horizontal-axis cloths washers consume at least one-third less water than traditional top loaders, easily saving 500 KWH per year. Some other appliance investments include refrigerators, water heaters, room air conditioners and dishwashers. According to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, replacing a 20-year-old refrigerator with a new, energy-efficient model will save about 800 KWH per year. You can use the kilowatt meter to find your actual use on appliance and then go window shopping to see what the usage of an upgrade would be. New appliances are required to be labeled to show its annual energy usage. Then you can calculate the savings.
• Using power strips serve two purposes; they reduce phantom loads and provide an easy way to turn off multiply components such as computer, monitor and printer.
• Upgrade your water usage. Small changes are shower heads and adding tank banks to your commodes. These reduce the amount of water needed without sacrificing desired results. Less water means less energy to pump the water into the household.
• Installing an electric conditioning unit can save up to 25% on your energy usage. This unit saves unused electricity that is normally wasted or known as phantom loads, energy consumed by electronic appliances while they are switched off or in a stand by mode. The electric conditioning unit provides lower energy bills, increased motor and applicance life, as well as a surge and lighting protection for all the equipment in your house.