Installing a motion sensor is a quick investment that will pay for itself and help you save money in the long run. As much as we hope people will remember to turn off the lights when they leave a room, it’s often forgotten. One way to help eliminate this kind of waste is to install a motion sensor in the most frequently used room in the house. A $15 sensor (available at any hardware store) will automatically turn off the lights for you when it doesn’t sense movement in a room. Home offices, family rooms and conference rooms at the workplace are great places to consider installing one.

If you unplug only one electronic in your home, make it your gaming console. Gaming systems like PlayStations and Xboxes may be a lot of fun to play with, but they are massive users of energy when they are powered up. They also draw a significant amount of power, even when they aren’t being used. When you add up the amount of electricity used when it’s in use and standby mode, it totals on average over $100 worth of power every year. Making a habit to unplug your machine when it's not in use can help significantly reduce your utility bills.

One of the biggest energy hogs in the kitchen is the oven, and choosing the right appliances to cook with can make a big difference for energy savings. A halogen countertop “oven” uses special lights that create radiant heat that can roast, bake and do whatever an oven can do. When you cook something in a halogen appliance instead of a conventional oven, you reduce your energy usage by 75 percent. It also cooks food about 50 percent faster than a traditional oven. A combination of both time and energy savings makes it a good investment for the kitchen.