From contemporary house plans to colonial house plans, all home designs have design elements that either add to their energy efficiency or take away from it. Contemporary house plans usually have large windows where heat or cold can seep in. Traditional or colonial house plans may need ceiling fans in many of the rooms to help keep air flow moving since their floor plan designs are not as open. These energy conservation facts can assist you in making your home more energy efficient while helping save you money on your utility bills regardless of the home style you choose to build.

• Almost 50 percent of the heat lost in the average home is through walls and loft space. While proper insulation may be an initial investment, it can end up saving you hundreds of dollars over the life of your home.

• Joints between building materials is a likely area where heat can leak out of the house. When two dissimilar materials meet, the change of air leakage occurring is increased. When you tighten up your house for the fall season, carefully check these areas.

• During the winter, opening curtains and drapes on sunny days harnesses the advantage of the sun’s heating power. At night, close all shades, blinds and drapes to make use of their insulating properties.

• Losing heat through windows is a significant portion of many heating bills. In fact, some sources estimate that heat loss through windows alone could account for almost 35 percent of heating bills. In home designs with large or multiple windows, you need to install clear plastic film to the window trim inside the house, caulk cracks or decorate windows for maximum efficiency. Possible decorating solutions may be shades, lined, draperies, closed shutters or blinds. Long-range solutions include installing storm doors and storm windows to eliminate chilly drafts.

• Your central air-conditioning compressor is ideally located on the shady side of your home because otherwise it will have to work harder in the full sun. Studies reveal that shading a compressor can cut 1 or 2 percent off cooling costs. More important is the airflow because it is the air moving over the compressor’s coils that makes them give up their heat so the system works. Keep shrubs, fences and anything else that may block airflow at least 24 inches away from the air-conditioning compressor.

• When you replace standard incandescent bulbs for ENERGY STAR® qualified compact fluorescents in your five most frequently used fixtures, you will enjoy as much as $60 off your energy bill annually.

• During both the summer and winter, ceiling fans save energy. In the summer months, fan blades should revolve in a counterclockwise direction and in the winter, your fans should be at their lowest speed and reversed to push warmer air down.

• If there are empty spaces in your freezer or refrigerator, fill them up with water jugs. It takes more energy to run an empty freezer or refrigerator than a full one so this will save you money.

• To be efficient, wash only full loads of clothes and always clean out the dryer lint filter after every load of laundry.