The state of Texas gives home buyers several home investment options; throughout 2008, Texas has been thought of as a great place to live and invest in real estate. Families looking for new housing opportunities should check to see if their future home includes energy efficient appliances and other conservation features such as low-flow toilets, CFL or LEED light bulbs and dual-pane low-E windows.

A high demand for “greener” homes has helped sway home builders towards using more energy efficient features and building practices. In addition, home sellers attempting to sell a home on the resale market have found that decreasing their home’s energy consumption helps increase interest in the home, decrease the days on market and gives the home features that help it standout. These features and building practices reduce a homes carbon footprint, help conserve water and save homeowners money on monthly energy bills.

Building new environmentally friendly homes and adding features to resale homes does a lot for our environment, but every homeowner can make a difference. Those who already own a home and find that their home does not include any energy efficient or water conservation features may find that making their home environmentally friendly is easier and cheaper than they may expect. Energy efficiency is a concept that is necessary not just to lower utility bills; it is about using less and preserving more.

Some of the following steps and tips may help to make sure your home is using less energy and water. By using these tips, you can make your house an energy efficient home.

 * Check your heating and cooling systems to ensure that they are working properly. A faulty heating or cooling does not promote energy conservation.

 * Inspect you home’s walls, ceilings, flooring, baseboards, window and door frames for cracks through which air leaks may happen. Air leaks let air in and out making your heating and cooling systems work longer and harder.

 * Weather-strip your home’s doors and windows to prevent outside air from coming in. This cuts down your need to have more heating or cooling done in your home.

 * Buy energy efficient appliances, light bulbs and water conservation devices when you do buy new items. There are low-flow toilets, low-flow faucets and nearly all appliances are available in models that use less energy.

 * Turn off and unplug appliances when they are not in use, appliances use energy when they are in stand-by mode. You can help minimize electrical waste by plugging your appliances into a power strip.

 * Use less water as often as possible. Water saving/recycling irrigation systems can help use less water when water your lawn and small things like turning off the faucet when brushing your teeth can make a large impact on water usage over a year.

If you want to ensure that you haven’t missed any air leaks or conservation opportunities, you can call in an energy inspector to evaluate the way you consume energy. The inspector is a trained professional and can point out ways to reduce your carbon footprint and utility bill.  Jayson Gibson