The CNN Money piece titled “Knock $ 4,000 of Your Utility Bill” does a great job of offering simple advice with great payback. Isn’t that what you want? Aren’t you tired of unpractical innovations like a solar powered pocket book, which not only looks goofy, but does nothing to help you save money or reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Many of their simple fixes cost under $ 1,000, some even less than $ 100, but offer payback periods of a year of less. After one year, these fixes become PROFITABLE to you!

Let’s take a look at some here:

• Insulate Attic

Cost: $ 500 – $ 1,000

Payback: $ 500 – $ 1,000 / year

Don’t stop here – this one is one of the most expensive with the slowest payback period. This gets better soon. See the other tips below.

Comment on the recommended Attic Tent, which insulates around attic hatches: Amazon.com sells a more economical alternative called Battic Door. Click here for information and pricing.

• Great Stuff – Insulating Foam

Cost: $ 15.00

Payback: $ 500.00 / year

Comment: Get Great Stuff Insulating Foam from $ 5.33 / bottle by clicking here

• Insulation Jacket on Water Heater

Cost: $ 40.00

Payback: $ 100 /year

Comment: You wouldn’t need to insulate your water heater if you used a tankless water heater, which creates hot water on demand – fast and efficiently. Make it even more efficient by pre-heating your water with a solar powered water heater on your roof. Click here to see more energy efficient home products including high efficiency appliances like refrigerators and washing machines.

• Schedule a Periodic Service Call

Cost: $ 100- $ 200 / year

Payback: $ 300 – $ 500 / year

Comment: Call us for a referral to a good service company in the Mid-Atlantic region: 443-864-3072.

• Cover the Ducts

Cost: $ 50 – $ 250

Payback: $ 500 – $ 1,500 / year

Comment: The all-time favorite fix-it, duct-tape, can delivery an almost unbelievable payback for its cost. Add a little additional cost to purchase duct insulation and you’re done.

• Use Time-Settings for Heat

Cost: $ 40.00 or Free using BG&E’s PeakRewards as explained below

Payback: $ 500 / year

Comment: While a programmable thermostat is a great energy-saving idea when used correctly and can be installed very easily by yourself, you sometimes have to be careful about which type you buy if you own a heatpump. To make matters simpler, and cheaper, if you live in Maryland’s Baltimore Gas & Electric service area, you can contact BG&E to take advantage of their PeakRewards Smart Energy Savers Program. By doing so, Baltimore Gas & Electric will provide you with a new, digital thermostat and free installation. Furthermore, the digital thermostat is programmable over the internet. You enter the settings on a website, and then they are transmitted over radio to your thermostat and automatically programmed to make energy saving so simple that you are more likely to do it. Note that by agreeing to be in the program, you are allowing BG&E to remotely cycle your compressor on and off at their discretion on peak energy emergency days, but BG&E claims they will only use it a few times per summer. This might cause your indoor air to be warmer or more humid, but that shouldn’t matter to families which commute to work during those peak hours. Since BG&E is able to more efficiently manage their peak power usage, their costs decrease. They pass some of this back to you as a rebate for being on the PeakRewards program. You can learn more about PeakRewards and sign up at Baltimore Gas & Electric’s PeakRewards website at:

http://www.bgesmartenergy.com/peakrewards/what-is-peakrewards

Note: Although the PeakRewards program has its benefits, BG&E’s time of day billing has some definite downsides, judging from comments posted by customers on Jay Hancock’s blog.