When you think about it, the color ‘green’ should be our favorite color. We strive for it with every earning day of our lives; going green could also give us and our planet a healthier future. There’s a more direct correlation between the two when it comes to energy savings. Come peak summer, energy use goes up and power bills could make you see more of red than green. Saving energy could keep you on a greener track as well as translate into money saved with decreased light bills.

Energy efficiency if followed, could return handsome savings all-round the year. Some benchmarks have it pegged at around an average of 30 percent. Anything less than that is also welcome. Let’s check out ten informative web resources that can help you save energy (summers and winters) and keep that ‘green’ smile.

Energy Savers [No Longer Available]

The US Department of Energy website is a one-stop comprehensive website if you want to start off with small energy saving habits or go big with alternate energy. Go with the Tip section and the scour the site for tools that can give you information on approved energy efficient appliance rebate programs and other things. The blog is also a good read with a large categorized list of energy related posts.

Energy Star

We stay with the US Department of Energy and its well-regarded international standard for energy efficiency. The standard and the practices that lie behind it enable consumers to make energy efficient choices for their homes and the planet. You can take advantage of tools like Store Locator, Rebate Finder, Energy Star Builder Locator, and more. Listen to the podcasts and other home improvement tips to build your energy efficient lifestyle. Give your kids an early start with the section that’s devoted to them.

Low Impact Living

The focal point of this well designed site is its Impact Calculator. The quiz-styles calculator helps you get a fix on your energy goals and design it around your lifestyle with the aim of reducing your total environmental impact. The calculator uses regional default values and gives you a customized profile that reflects the specifics of your home. The other resources on the site are on recommendations on green products and services. One of my favorite sections is Lowdown which tells us how people are living in green homes around the world.

[NO LONGER WORKS] Wattbot

This energy conservation site works for both consumers and service providers. Consumers get valuable tips and free personalized energy recommendations depending on the address. You can edit the default values and fill in your details to get the good word on how to go about saving energy and money. You can fine-tune the data to get better recommendations and breakdowns. Each idea is accompanied by text and videos to better educate you about them.

Home Energy Saver

Another US Department of Energy website works similarly to the other energy savings calculator by using your location to setup an energy profile. With your location, you get an estimate of what a typical and what an energy efficient home spend on energy. Comparison estimates are detailed and show where (and how) you can redesign your home to start saving on energy costs. Even if you don’t upgrade, it’s a great learning tool to see how you can make a difference.

[NO LONGER WORKS] Earth Aid

Earth Aid (Beta) tracks your energy usage by linking to your online utility accounts (gas, power, and water). Ideas on how to save are offered on the site as well as the community on it. Tracking your usage could help you visualize your energy spends and what more you need to do to lower the graph. The tips on ways you can save is neatly arranged and described with icons. You can check out incentives available, environmental benefits, and costs. Earth Aid takes a community approach as you can share your spends and savings with other members.

Microsoft Hohm

Microsoft and energy savings? That’s what I thought of this unusual pairing but Hohm (beta) does exactly what it advertises. Quite similarly to the other sites above, it starts with your energy profile and then offers ideas on how you can save. It also has a support community that can give you further insights into real world examples.

All the energy savings calculator here are US specific. But the tips alone could lead to small savings or at least some major dollops of awareness that infinitesimal steps can lead to energy savings. Do you think about your home energy use? Why not head over to the web or check our directory for some more apps and see how you can save energy, the Earth, and money all year round.

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