How can you reduce your electricity bills? the first place you should look at is heating and cooling systems of your house. They eat up most of the energy you use in your house, and yet we all too often ignore it when all we need is to take a few simple steps to reduce the energy consumption by a third or even by half.

The first rule is that the less outside air gets into your house, the less energy you need to heat or cool it. Check if the doors and windows seal when you close them and repair any storm windows. Also pay attention to the house's attic and cellar - most of hot air escapes house through your attic and most of cold air gets in through the cellar. Another thing is setting your thermostat around four degrees more than usually in the summer and four less in the winter. You will notice little difference - but the bill will be around 5-10% lower.

Another thing is your heating and cooling system efficiency. Frequent maintenance and regularly replacing the filters in case of air conditioning systems will do a huge difference. Some systems operate at only half their initial efficiency unless regularly maintained. If your heating system is older than ten or fifteen years, you should seriously consider replacing it - the heating technology goes towards energy efficiency.

Keep your thermostat in the area of your house which is far away from any really hot or cold places. Otherwise you risk your thermostat to excessively heat or cool your house basing on false readings. You may reduce the risk by installing a programmable Energy Star rater thermostat, but it is much better to get it installed in another place.

There are also hundreds minor things you may want to do to reduce the energy consumption. Here are two examples. 1/Do not use a fireplace unless it is necessary. You may end up losing more energy through the chimney than a fireplace can give. Also, if you do not use a fireplace, keep the chimney close! 2/A heat pump is an excellent solution which makes your house feel comfortable during spring and autumn when heating and cooling systems aren't cost-effective.