There are a few key factors in making sure your home is sending less of the warm or cold air you just paid to condition out of the house. First you want to try and reduce airflow. For water you may not be able to afford new appliances, but there are ways to update your toilets and water fixtures. But if you can afford new appliances you’ll possibly be helping your wallet in more way you can think. Then there are your lighting options.
Doors and windows: These are the primary culprits where everyone is told to look. And its true! You do want to check to make sure that the gaskets are sealing the doors and windows around the seems. Even if you have new windows you may notice a draft. This can be infuriating considering the money you spent and it is most likely not the window. Companies that replace windows put in a window and leave the gaps around it intact. It is most likely the molding around the window and the gaps behind it. There is a simple and quick fix for that as long as you are sure it is not the window itself. Here you will need DAP foam in the blue can, pry bar and hammer. You'll need to take off the molding around the window and look for where they drywall meets the window. ( Cut at least a 3/8 to 1/2 inch gap The molding will hide it when you put it back on). Remove any old insulation and foam around the window. Be sure to use a window and door foam. It will expand less in the gap preventing any issue with expansion. The same procedure can be used for around you door.
If that is all done now you're going to want to look at your outlets. Caulking any gaps where the drywall meets the box is a good idea. Any type of air sealing is always a good thing. Before you put the outlet cover back on place and outlet gasket and light switch gasket. Recessed lighting can be other sources of air leakage and you're going to deal with most of these leaks in the same manner. Here you'll need caulking for areas where duct Tape (For actual ducts of a home and is reflective) won't be able to seal around the curves. Usually at the top of the recessed can. For the rest of the holes you can use the reflective tape. If you notice a screw or latch. This is so the lighting can be removed for replacement or service. You need to make sure to put something that can easily be removed but will seal the airflow to service down the road.
If you have a fireplace everyone is going to tell you the fireplace is another place where you will lose energy. They're right! However, what happens when you block it off and still feel the drafts? A good place to look is around where the brick meets the drywall. Take off the molding and if you feel air. The same procedure should be used for what you did with windows and doors. Though because its a fireplace the 1 inch gap foam will work just fine. You can use Fire block foam if you would like, but they are essentially the same product. One just has an orange color for building code identification. (Note: Never put foam inside the chimney. The foam will burn and the chemicals it produces are not pleasant. If there are cracks allowing airflow inside the of the Chimney. A mason should be called to ensure the Chimney is in good condition. If not they may need to install a metal insert.
Hot/cold water pipes: One of the things I learned when heating my home with a boiler is the pipes are always radiating a lot of the heat from the boiler right into the basement. Add that with the gaps where they go up into the wall and you can lose a lot of energy before it ever makes it into the home. The holes leading up into your walls and go up into your attic space are called bypasses and it is important you seal them. The heat loss you will also experience is through your concrete walls. But let’s stick to the bypasses for now. You will want to seal the holes using DAP foam in a can and pipe foam for the pipes themselves. Essentially very long sleeves of foam with a slit down the middle. Make sure you cut foam to be a little longer as hot pipes over time will make it contract.
Water efficiency: I am on a well and have a septic. Even though I have unlimited water and a septic system. Water efficiency is still the way to go. First the reason water efficient toilets and appliances were installed in my home has to do a lot with the homes age. My well pump is the original pump in a 35 year old home. By using less water I am able to prolong the life of my well pump. By reducing how much water I am using in the home overall. I am also able to extend the life of my septic system. By simply putting less water in the the septic system I have less chance of overloading my leech field which is also the original and having the septic back up into my home. I can do more laundry, take longer showers, and more loads of dishes while putting less soaps into the system. So always remember if you buy a home with a well and septic. These steps are huge in avoiding issues or buying time if an issue arises. For any septic system you should always know the tell tale signs of a a problem.
If the insulation in the basement looks dirty and in poor shape. It should be replaced and properly air sealed. There are some great products on the market like rock wool insulation. Here you will want to insulate where the joists meet the ridge plate. If you go to Home Depot pick up some DAP foam in the red can, Pink Panther foam boards and some Rock Wool insulation. When working around the joists and pipes make sure you have a 1/4 gap. It doesn't have to be perfect here, because you will be using DAP Foam to seal around it. This will seal any air leakage from the ridge plate. the reason for the Rock Wool is to protect the foam board in case of fire. Rock wool insulation is water and fire resistant. You will need to place insulation over this piece of foam. For this application I use R25 Rock Wool insulation. Formerly known as Roxul. So if you see old Roxul branded bags you can grab those. I also have insulated my entire basement with it. It helps block the sound of my boiler, acts as a fire stop and in a lot of areas goes beyond minimum fire codes. Once the pipes are insulated and taped you have now solved some of your energy loss issues in the basement. (Keep in mind when air sealing your home. If you use any combustible device. Make sure they have proper airflow. If they compete for air, they can pull carbon monoxide back into the home creating a dangerous situation.)
Lighting: There are now a lot of energy saving options out there right now for lighting. A lot of people will buy anything that says LED on it and slap it in a fixture. But there are ways to spend and get the lowest possible watt usage. First make sure you are getting the warmth you like. 2700-3000k Bulbs are more like the incandescent you've come to love. Daylight bulbs are usually bright like florescent lighting. I've found for areas of the home I don't need to dim. I can use a non dimmable bulb made by Utilitech at the 3000k warmth. They will run 1 watt less than their dimmable counterpart. If you are using a dimmable application, I love Cree bulbs. If you are going to be dimming make sure you update the switch to. Updating to a lutron dimmer switch is the way to go. By updating the switches they can save you an additional 4% on energy. But you want to get the ones with a slider and switch. The digital ones I have noticed constantly have power to the bulb.
These are some of the ways you can save energy and depending on your skill set is something any DIY can tackle. If you do have doubt about your abilities. Always contact a professional who is licensed and insured. Especially for electrical.