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.

By Kathryn Hawkins | Razoo.com

Home foreclosures, which are occurring all too frequently in this economy, are a sad circumstance for any family—but thanks to a new volunteer group called Take Back the Land, foreclosures are no longer bad news for everyone.

The group’s leader, Miami activist Max Rameau, figured that there was no reason that the houses should simply sit there empty when there were so many people who had no place to live. So he decided to play matchmaker of sorts, between bank- and government-owned houses and local homeless families, who simply needed a place to stay temporarily. He has since provided free temporary homes to seven local families.”We are trying to give people some dignified options,” Rameau told Ode Magazine. “Several families have been able to save money and move on to other places.”

Rameau’s actions aren’t exactly legal, but Miami officials are willing to look the other way as long as the homes’ owners don’t complain. So far, they haven’t had any problems, but there are risks involved: families are liable to be charged with burglary, and illegal immigrants may be putting themselves at greater risk of deportation by drawing attention to themselves in this manner. Rameau makes sure that each homeless family clearly understands the possible repercussions of their actions, but the families have simply been so eager for a place to stay that they are willing to overlook the dangers.

“We just explained the levels on which you can get hit and the only real question they had was, ‘Do you have any four-bedrooms?’ said Rameau. “This really speaks to how desperate people are.”

However, the times may be changing: in cities like Atlanta, homeless families are actually being paid to stay in vacant homes to keep out burglars. Cleveland is also considering a plan to allow homeless people to live in the city’s abandoned homes if they are willing and able to renovate them during their stays.

“The crisis is so bad that it’s forcing people to think about their relationship to land a little bit differently,” said Rameau. “It’s very important that what comes out as a result of this clash is better, not worse, than where we are right now.”

How you can help: While Take Back the Land and similar initiatives may provide a temporary solution for homeless families, many nonprofit organizations are focused on providing long-term shelter, support, and professional opportunities to dispossessed individuals. Consider making a donation to a group like Habitat for Humanity, which is dedicated to building low-cost homes for low-income families and the formerly homeless.

Related articles:

• What to Do Before You Donate: Five Tips for Giving Wisely to Charity (geezeo.com)
• Overcome This Major Financial Mistake (geezeo.com)
• Six Steps for Raising a Charitable Child (geezeo.com)