Tips for Conserving Energy

I had a bit of a crisis about a week and a half ago. With such cold temperatures in good ol' South Carolina, a pipe froze and burst. It flooded about 2 1/2 rooms in my house. I was able to call out a Fire/Water specialist, and he ripped out my floor. The pipe was fixed and the floor was dried out. Everyone did so in a timely manner, except insurance. An insurance adjuster came out to the house yesterday and gave me the whole floor! So I will be getting all new flooring in my house--such a blessing!
The adjuster made a few comments that I thought was very good advice, so I wanted to share them with you.
1. Everything in my house is electric, so the hot water heater has to work harder when it is colder--thus using more energy. I purchased an insulated blanket to wrap around the hot water heater. Since the hot water heater is in the garage, this helps the tank from getting to cold.
2. You can also set your programmable thermostat to a lower temperature during the day. This saves your heating bill 10% on average. (http://www.energy.gov/winter.htm)
3. The adjuster also made a comment about the black hoses that are on washers. They are under so much pressure that they burst and flood the house. You can purchase wire mesh hoses that expand and contract with the pressure.
4. When he goes out of town, he shuts his water off. This isn't something that you normally think about, but it will give you peace of mind when you are away.

You can check out more energy savings tips on: http://www.energy.gov/index.htm