Making your home energy efficient basically means reducing the overall energy wastage by employing certain techniques and methods. These techniques need not be difficult to execute and can be done by the homeowner themselves. 

1. 1. Conduct a free energy audit: Before you start exploring ways on how to make your house more energy efficient, apply for a free home energy audit from your utility provider. A proper audit will help you figure out where your energy use is going and how you can eliminate any waste. Once you have a proper idea of the existing energy efficiency of your home, you can work on additional ways to improve it even further.
      
      
   2. Unplug once in a while: It is quite clear that electronic items consume a major chunk of your overall energy needs. Electronic items tend to consume energy even when they are switched off. Research shows that 75% of the energy used to power your entire household is consumed when they are switched off. To lower your unnecessary energy usage you can unplug your electronics once in a while, this will help make your household more energy efficient than before.
      
      
   3. Seal and insulate your home: One of the most cost-effective and popular methods to make your home more energy efficient is to seal and insulate your home by yourself. A properly sealed and insulated home can not only make it more energy efficient but also extremely comfortable for you and your family and additionally can reduce your utility bills.
      
      
   4. Replace your existing light bulbs: Traditional incandescent light bulbs consume extreme amounts of energy and should be replaced with their energy efficient counterparts i.e Compact fluorescent lights (CFLs), halogen incandescent bulbs, or light-emitting diode bulbs (LEDs). These are known to consume anywhere between 25-80 percent less electricity than traditional incandescent bulbs and are also cheaper on the longer run.
      
      
   5. Purchase energy efficient appliances: Investing in energy efficient appliances can be a game charger for saving energy in your home. Despite being slightly expensive energy efficient appliances are known to consume 25% less energy than traditional appliances and additionally their overall operating costs are often 9-25% lower than conventional models.
      
      
   6. Reduce your water heating costs: Water heating contributes a major part to your energy needs and utility bills. Purchasing an energy efficient water heater will help you save on your utility bills and additionally, anywhere between 8% and 300% more energy efficient than a traditional storage water heater.
      
      There are some other methods which will also help you in reducing your water heating costs such as:
      
      – Turn down the thermostat on your water heater.
      – Use less hot water.
      – Insulate your water heater and the first six feet of hot and cold water pipes
      
      

   7.   Use solar energy:  Investing in clean renewable energy such as installing solar panels for your house has various benefits such as: 

      • Reduced utility bills
      • Long lasting with very little maintenance costs
      • Additional Federal tax incentives
        
        

   8. Cook smarter: A significant amount of energy is wasted during cooking food if proper techniques or appliances are not put in use. You can adhere to these few tips that will help you not only cook efficiently but also help in reducing your energy consumption: 

      • Use microwave ovens over conventional ones as they consume 80% less energy
      • Use a pressure cooker which drastically reduces cooking time
      • Use pans that are of the same size as the flame or heating component
        
        
        

   9. Install efficient shower heads and toilets: The following measures can be take to reduce both water and energy consumption in your home:

      • • Low-flow toilets: Installing a low flow toilet in your bathroom can help you save over 12,000 gallons of water every year.
          
          
        • Low-flow shower heads: They have adjustable flow rates that can help you adjust the flow of water as you prefer and reduce unnecessary wastage.
          
          
        • Dual-flush toilets: Dual-flush toilets are very sustainable in nature and can help you reduce water consumption by over 30% annually.
          
          
          

   10. . Change your laundry techniques: You can try these laundry techniques in your home to be more energy efficient: 
       
       

       • Wash your clothes in cold water as research has found that consumers potentially have been able to save more than $50 a year by reducing the temperature of their washing water by 15 degrees.
         
         
       • Air-dry your clothes on lines and racks as frequently as you can.
         
         
       • Avoid using the medium setting on your washer unless and until your load is full. This is because the medium setting helps to save less than half of the water and energy used for a full load.