Longer nights, shorter days, colder temperatures. With gas and electric rates on the rise across America, now is a great time to take basic steps to make sure your home is set up to use energy wisely this winter. Here are four basic steps you can take to keep your home warm and cozy, reduce your heating bills, and minimize pollution.

Four tips to save energy this winter

1) Add insulation

One of the best ways to keep your home warm is to stop heat from leaving in the first place.

According to ENERGY STAR, a government-backed symbol for energy efficiency, 9 out of 10 homes in the U.S. are under-insulated. That means that 90% of American homes are losing the heat they’re generating out of the house. 

Because heat rises, insulation is particularly important in attics. Even something as simple as laying down a layer of insulation on your attic’s floor will do a lot to keep warmth in your living spaces instead of rising up into the cold winter skies. 

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, investing in insulation for your crawl spaces, basement and attic can save you up to 15% on your heating and cooling bill. 

2) Seal leaks around windows and doors

Another easy way to keep heat from leaking out of our homes is to plug up leaks around our windows and doors. 

Some fixes, such as caulking and weatherstripping, are easy to install and effective in saving energy and heat. Caulking is used to seal up cracks around stationary elements, such as window frames, while weatherstrips can be applied to parts that move, like windows themselves. These solutions are easy DIY projects.

Another place where heating is lost is the duct system, if you have one. On average, 20% of the air that moves through ducts is lost to leaks and holes. Plugging these problem spots can make a big difference in saving energy. 

And if these fixes are outside your comfort zone, one very easy solution is to hang thick, heavy curtains in front of your windows. Something as small as this can do wonders in keeping the cold out. 

3. Check your water heater and adjust your thermostat

We can save energy when we look directly at the sources where we control our air and water temperatures. 

Adjusting your thermostat is one easy example. Keeping our thermostats at 68 degrees during the winter can produce big savings while still saving us from the worst of the cold. 

And our water heaters can be a source of savings, too. Most households manage perfectly fine by keeping their water heater set to 120 degrees. 

4. Electrify your home to save energy

Here’s a bigger change you can make to your home to cut down on heating-related fossil fuel use: go electric. 

Electric appliances offer many benefits over their fossil fuel powered counterparts. 

Federal tax credits and rebates make switching to more efficient electric technologies more affordable for many families. These tax credits and rebates can help families purchase heat pumps for home heating and cooling, heat pump water heaters and electric appliances like induction stoves.

If you’re running your house on an oil or gas furnace that’s reaching the end of its life, making a plan to switch over to an efficient electric heat pump could save you money on your energy bill.  You can learn more about the journey of installing a heat pump here. 

For an in-depth run down on how to save energy in your home, you can check out Environment America Research & Policy Center’s Citizen’s Guide to Reducing Energy Waste