If you’re feeling the pinch of high energy costs, join the club. Sky high fuel and oil costs have certainly caused people to start rethinking their energy situation. In the long run this is a good thing, since it pushes us down the path of energy independence. Unfortunately though, in the short term, it just causes us to pay more for our heating and electricity needs.

So what can you do in the mean time? Even though the answer isn’t so simple there are a few things that you can do before you get started generating your own power. The first and most important thing to do is to invest in energy efficiency products. Only after you’ve improved the energy efficiency of your home as much as possible should you look into installing solar panels or cells, wind turbines, or other sources of alternative energy.

The great thing about improving your home’s energy efficiency is that it is the quickest and easiest way to save money on your energy costs. It’s entirely possible to reduce your costs by 30 percent or more with only a few hundred dollars invested in energy efficiency products such as insulation and weatherization supplies. So while windmills and solar cells are getting all the publicity lately, it’s the tried and true solution of insulating, weatherizing, and improving energy efficiency that can yield the greatest results.

The easiest, and one of the most effective ways, to reduce your electric bills is to change your lighting from incandescent lights to compact fluorescent lights where possible. Recent tests have shown that by replacing only a quarter of your installed incandescent lighting with compact fluorescent lighting, you can reduce your lighting expenses by 50 percent. A huge savings for a small investment!

So as you can see, saving money on your electric bills and energy costs doesn’t have to be expensive or difficult. And the best part is that by lowering your power requirements, you will be able to provide a much larger portion of your electricity needs from alternative power sources. You may even get to the point where your power requirements can be completely supplied by home wind generators and solar cells. Imagine that, no electric bill!

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