Energy saving measures at home save cash

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Your home is your biggest investment and it also takes a lot to keep it running comfortably. If you're trying to save some money in the process, it's sometimes the littlest things that can go a long way to save a buck.

"There's just the common sense things of what needs to be on," says Erick Seelinger from PNM. "If something has to be on like a light, use a compact florescent that uses 75 percent less electricity than an incandescent."

News 13 recently had energy experts from PNM and an energy company take a walk through of an Albuquerque home. They showed that many people wouldn't think of checking things like recessed lighting for escape of energy. PNM say the biggest culprit for higher energy bills is an air conditioner or heater that works harder to keep your home at a comfortable temperature.

Adam Walker with Walker Energy Services says it depends on your type of home, but there are certain things to look out for such as a home with an attic. "It's pretty easy to go up and see if you have enough insulation. Unfortunately, we do have a lot of flat roof homes here in New Mexico and there's not a lot you can do about that. if you're house is on a crawl space, big time infiltration into your house is leaking quite a bit."

Even a missing light switch cover or outlet cover can let air out of a room you're paying to keep cool or heat.

"When I see something like this, the wall furnaces, they're fine, we do worry a little bit about, you know, when we see a gas fired combustion appliance in the house," says Walker. "We basically want to do a safety check and make sure there's no opportunity for back drafting or no carbon monoxide."

"Programmable thermostats are a great way to go," says Seelinger. "You can set those up so that either the cooling won't come on when you're not at home or the heating will set back at night when you're in bed or set back to a lower temperature during the day."

PNM also says there are things in your home that could save money and make money. Getting rid of an old refrigerator can get you fifty bucks from PNM.  There's also a contest for whichever customer can lower their energy bill the most compared to this time last year.  That prize could be $300 which can applied to PNM service.  You can find rules at http://pnm.com.