Spring is a great time to make energy efficiency upgrades to your home. Spending money to improve your home can yield “triple bottom line” returns: improving your home’s value, saving you money, and protecting our natural resources. Oh, and stimulating the economy at the same time sure is nice, too!

Here are some common upgrades. Pay attention to the percentage at the end. Some energy efficiency upgrades yield significant savings!

Energy Efficiency Upgrade/Purchase Price/Annual Bill Savings/Simple Payback (yrs)/Rate of Return [source:

Fluorescent Lamps & Fixtures $200/$80/2.5/ 41%
Duct sealing $250/$95/2.6/41%
ENERGY STAR Clothes washer $194/$66/2.9/37%
ENERGY STAR Programmable Thermostat $107/$29/3.7/30%
Water Heater Tank Wrap (R-12) $85/$23/3.7/28%
ENERGY STAR Refrigerator $97/$23/4.2/27%
ENERGY STAR Heat Pump $692 $126/5.5/19%
ENERGY STAR Dishwasher $29/$5/5.5/18%
Air sealing to 0.5 air changes per hour $522/$38/13.7/9%
Increase wall and attic insulation $1,784/$111/16.1/8%
Total $3,960/$597/6.6/16%
Total bill savings as % of baseline bill 36%

For greater detail on these rates of return on energy efficiency upgrades, please see this government website.

How much could your energy efficient upgrade improve your bottom line? Use the calculator here.

Finally, here are some more ideas for making your home more energy efficient and cost effective.