So I just wanted to do a little poll. How much money have you saved through investing in energy efficient measures?

I guess you could look at it two ways. How much have you invested versus the savings, but that might depress some, so you can just say how much you save.

Its really a hard thing to measure. I have taken small steps in my home including CFLs, Low-E Coatings, Increased garage insulation, turning off lights in empty rooms, shutting off unused rooms, using canvas grocery bags and so much more, but none of these things are truly measurable in payback. Our bills are a bit lower but that could do with the temps, humidity, or activity levels in the home. I have made a substantial investment in being more energy efficient, but I am not too worried about the payback on these efforts.

I haven't made that many adjustments yet, but when I installed CFLs, I did see a $5-10 per month reduction in my energy bills. Now that may also have to do with the change in mentality and a reduction in energy use.

hippie, you bring up a point I hadn't thought about. As each of us takes steps toward a greener lifestyle with consumer goods, technology and so on, we are also changing our mindsets and saving money and energy just through lifestyle changes.

Kind of makes it hard to calculate the actual ROI for many investments though doesn't it.

My utilities bills are on the average 20-30 less per month over the entire year. All I have done so far is to switch to CFL, add extra insulation to the attic space, turn down the water heater and get a programmable thermostat. Its not much but it does make a difference.