There’s something for everyone, homeowners and renters in this list of suggestions on how to make your home more energy-efficient.

Keep the oven door closed while cooking.

The temperature of the oven can drop by as many as 25 degrees each time you open the oven door.

Cool food off before putting it in the fridge.

When you put something hot into the fridge, the appliance has to work harder to cool it down. Let your food cool down on the counter first. Never leave food out at room temperature for more than two hours and only one hour on a hot day.

Avoid using your oven in the summertime.

If you avoid using the oven in summer, you will reduce the heat in your home and save on your home cooling costs.

Check the temperature of your refrigerator and freezer.

Keep your fridge and freezer at their ideal temperature. For your fridge this is between 2°C and 3°C and your freezer should be at -18°C.

Skip the heat-dry setting for the dishwasher.

Your machine will have a setting for heated drying, turn it off and allow your dishes to dry on their own.

Use the microwave, slow cooker or toaster oven.

Cooking with a microwave, slow cooker or toaster oven instead of a conventional oven can save from 30per cent to as much as 80per cent in energy. To save even more, make sure your smaller appliances are ENERGY STAR®.

Cover pots and pans while cooking.

Cover your pots and pans when you’re boiling water or cooking food. This will help prevent the release of heat, allowing the pan to boil faster and use less energy in the process.

When cooking, turn your stove’s burners off early.

Turn off oven burners a few minutes before you finish cooking. The heat that is stored in the pan and other cooking equipment will allow your food to still cook, but you’ll save energy in the process.

Toss a towel in the dryer.

A dry towel added to your dryer load can significantly reduce drying times. If you’re doing seven loads a week this could save you $27 a year.

Fill your washer.

Your washer uses the same amount of energy no matter the size of the load, so fill it up.

Clean your dryer’s lint filter regularly.

Don’t forget the tubing! Use the long nozzle on your vacuum periodically to clean out particles that get beyond the filter.

Minimize your phantom loads.

A phantom load is the energy that a plugged-in appliance or electronic device uses when it is not turned on. The average Canadian home wastes $150 or more a year on electronic devices that are plugged in but turned off.

Eliminate your phantom loads by unplugging appliances and electronics when you are not using them, or by plugging them into a power bar, and turning the power bar off when they are not in use.

Stop using your screen saver.

Set your computer to sleep or hibernate mode instead of using a screen saver. Many computers and monitors sit idle for hours, wasting energy and driving up your electric bills. You can save about $40 a year just by enabling the power management settings so the computer goes to “sleep” after a certain number of idle minutes.

Unplug battery chargers when they are not in use.

Many chargers draw power continuously, even when the device is not plugged into the charger.

Turn off your water heater if you plan on leaving home for a few days.

Heating water is the second-largest energy user in your home. Since most water heaters will reheat the water to the set temperature in about an hour, turn it off while you're away to save energy.

Turn down your furnace.

Having people over for a holiday dinner, or doing a lot of cooking in the winter? Turn down the furnace 3 degrees and keep the oven door open when you’re done.

Manage your thermostat.

Programmable or smart thermostats automatically adjust your home’s temperature to your schedule, keeping it comfortable only when you need it to be. If you don’t already adjust your thermostat throughout the day, a programmable thermostat could save you as much as 15 per cent on heating and cooling costs. If you have an electrically heated home, lower your thermostat by two degrees to save 5per cent on your heating bill. Lowering it five degrees could save 10per cent.

Make sure your ceiling fans are going in the right direction.

Your ceiling fan should be spinning in reverse during summer. This improves airflow by pulling the cooler air upward and circulating that cool breeze throughout your space.

Use natural light.

A single south-facing window can illuminate 20 to 100 times its area. Turning off one 60-watt bulb for four hours a day is a $9 saving over a year.

Use task lighting.

Turn off ceiling lights and use table lamps, track lighting, and under-counter lights in work and hobby areas as well as in kitchens.

Take a shorter shower or shower instead of taking a bath. 

Heating water is the second-largest energy user in your home and heating it is expensive. If two people in your home cut their shower time by a minute each, you could save more than $30 a year. Set a timer while you shower.

Fix that leaky toilet

A small, more common toilet leak can waste up to 547 litres per day, equaling 200,000 litres a year. This can add up to an extra $90 on every two-month water bill.