Have you ever wondered, “What is the difference between Weatherization and Home Performance?” Even if you haven’t, I’ll tell you. Weatherization is the process of retrofitting a home to improve energy efficiency and Home Performance is the result of those efficiency measures.

Here are some do-it-yourself weatherization tips to improve your home’s performance and make it more energy efficient.

Begin with lighting. You can reduce the wattage and maintain the lumens (light brightness) by switching to CFL's (compact fluorescent lights). This will provide a savings of $23.60 over the life of each bulb. Count how many bulbs you will be replacing, take that number and multiply it to find your savings potential. (CFL's X $23.60)

Second, address the proper settings for comfort whether you are heating or cooling your home. To achieve the best efficiency for the appliances, you have to set the base temperatures to 65 degrees for heating and 78 degrees for cooling. In addition, remember not to shut these systems off while away as this makes the system over work and has a negative impact on its performance. Nothing performs well when it is over worked. Include in your budget the need for system servicing to reduce the high costs of repairs caused by failures that could have been avoided.

Finally, your refrigerator, the most overlooked of all electrically run devices. To ensure the best performance follow these settings and help reduce the consumption that is currently being zapped by this beast. Refrigerators should be set to 36-38 degrees and the freezer to 0-5 degrees. These are the settings that allow for the lowest consumption of electricity. To ensure that it maintains these temperatures, you do have to keep it full–this has always been my favorite setting of all. And remember, if the refrigerator is over 10 years old, it should be replaced by an Energy Star rated model.

Improving energy efficiency is good for the Earth and your wallet. It's about changing behaviors, reducing what we use through the purchase of Energy Star Products, and allowing our homes to become healthier, safer, more comfortable, durable and efficient.