Many people think that walking into a chilly room and raising the thermostat to 85 degrees will heat the room more quickly. That's not true.

Thermostats direct a home's heating, ventilating and air conditioning system to heat or cool to a certain temperature. Drastically adjusting the thermostat setting will not make a difference in how quickly you feel warmer. The same is true for cooling. The U.S. Department of Energy recommends setting your thermostat to 78 degrees during the summer months and 68 degrees during winter months.

While it can be tempting to check the progress of a dish in the oven, opening the door does waste energy. Every time the oven door is opened, the temperature inside is reduced by as much as 25 degrees, delaying the progress of your dish and, more importantly, costing you additional money. If you need to check the progress of a delicious pie, use the oven light.

Many consumers believe that reducing energy use requires expensive upfront costs, like purchasing new, more efficient appliances or making renovations to an older home. But the truth is consumers who make small changes to their energy efficiency habits, such as turning off lights when not in use, sealing air leaks and using a programmable thermostat, can see a reduction in energy consumption.

On their own, programmable thermostats do not make your HVAC system more efficient. Their money-saving value lies in their ability to - once properly programmed - regulate the temperature inside your house to coincide with your habits. If you need help programming your thermostat, directions are usually available on the manufacturer's website.

Even when turned off, most modern electronics consume electricity so long as they are still plugged in. Chargers for mobile devices such as cellphones also consume electricity when plugged in, even when they are not actively charging a device. This is wasted energy accounts for as much as 10% of a home's total electric use, according to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The solution: Unplug your electronics when you've finished using them.

Air that leaks through cracks and gaps throughout your home creates as much of an energy drain as leaving a window open all year long, according to Energy Star. The average homeowner can save up to 10% on their total annual energy spending by sealing and insulating their home.

Even though a higher level of current is needed to turn on a light, this higher level is only used for a fraction of a second. When a light is kept on, it uses a lower level of power but for much longer. Leaving a light on for longer than a few seconds uses more energy than turning it off and back on as needed.

Thanks to standby power settings, most appliances constantly use energy to be ready for immediate usage. These "energy vampires" cannot be turned completely off without unplugging the device altogether.

Forced-air heating systems are designed to operate with all of the registers open. The blower won't perform as well with the registers closed and can create whistling in the ducts. In some cases, duct systems have so many leaks that closing a register won't force more warm air into other rooms - it will force more air out of the leaks.

Hand-washing a load of dishes requires a lot of hot water and therefore a lot of energy. Today, most dishwashers have energy-efficient settings that typically allow you to run a load of dishes using less water and less energy than washing by hand.

While heat can be lost through windows, window heat loss is only a small percentage of the total heat loss in most homes. Typically, walls account for much more heat loss because of their large surface area. It's best to consider insulating walls before upgrading windows.

New windows can increase security and comfort, but they'll take 20-30 years to pay for themselves. Replacing single-pane windows with double-pane low-e windows will save energy and money, but in a house with 20 windows, it'll take you almost 24 years to recoup the cost of the new windows. That being said, if you plan to stay in your home and the existing windows are drafty and in disrepair, it's probably a good idea to replace them.

Your computer continues to draw quite a lot of power in sleep mode so the computer can be ready to pop back on at a moment's notice. It is best to shut your computer down all the way overnight or when you are planning on not using it for awhile.