The walls around you have more energy-saving potential than you realize. The added bonus: You'll benefit the environment by reducing your home’s fossil-fuel energy consumption. Explore the following options to set your home up for energy efficiency.

1. Perform your own energy audit.
In order to trim down your energy use, you’ve got to know where you’re wasting it. Is it the plasma TV? The air condtioner you constantly run? Tour your home, using Hawaiian Electric company's My Home Energy Check, available online at heco.com, as your guide. Then, get recommendations for easy changes at energystar.gov. Click on Home Energy Yardstick, answer a few questions and get set to make your home more efficient. You'll need to know your home's square footage and have your last 12 months' utility bills on hand. Access your bill history at heco.com when you sign up for a profile.

2. Seal it up.
Doing small things, like sealing leaks and cracks around doors and windows, can save big energy bucks. In fact, the cost of resealing can often pay for itself in reduced en ergy costs in one year. City Mill offers a variety of caulks, sealants and application tools, as well as experts to advise you on how to detect and seal leaks properly.

Photo courtesy of Macsteel Locally produced Macsteel roofing looks great and helps keep your home cool.

3. Invest in a cool roof.
“Most of the heat gain in a home is through the roof,” says Fred Rehm, of Aluminum Shake Roofing. When the sun shines, your roof and attic space trap heat, raising the overall temperature of your home. By installing a lightweight aluminum roof, you’ll cut down on the amount of heat that gets trapped, thereby reducing the amount of A/C needed to cool your home.

Aluminum Shake Roofing’s Country Manor Aluminum Shake is made of 95 percent recycled content (mostly used beverage containers). The roof will last as long (if not longer) than your home, minimizing the need for replacement. The Country Manor Roof reduces the amount of energy needed to cool your home by 30 percent or more.

Macsteel offers metal roofing that’s manufactured locally (no energy used to ship the product from the Mainland) and is made from recycled steel materials. They’re coated to reduce heat buildup, too. Before you imagine unappealing, shiny metal roofs of old, take note: These metal roofs are as beautiful as their non-metal counterparts.

4. Make it hot with solar.
Instead of burning costly, polluting fossil fuels, think solar. “Solar systems use one of Hawaii’s greatest [renewable] resources,” says Donald Akiona, of www.solarprohawaii.com" target="_blank">Solar Professionals. What’s more, “A home that has a solar hot-water system, typically will save about 25 percent to 40 percent of the electric bill in the home,” says Mike Benes, of Hawaiian Island Solar, depending on how much electricity and water you're using. For a family of four, that percentage translates to a savings of roughly $240 to $280 per year.

A solar hot-water system lasts up to 25 years, giving you plenty of time to recoup the cost of initial installation. Additionally, a state tax credit of 35 percent will be applied to the installation cost, with a credit cap of $2,250. You’ll also receive a capless federal tax credit of 30 percent for installation. Finally, Hawaiian Electric company offers a $1,000 rebate. 

Photo by iStock.com You can retrofit old fluorescent light fixtures for energy savings using more efficient bulbs.

5. Retrofit your fixtures.
If you’re using fluorescent lights, they probably accept T-12 bulbs, “which means they turn on slowly, or they flicker,” explains Danyal Correia, of Mr. Electric. Most light fixtures will be moving to a T-8 bulb and ballast (the electronic component inside your fixture that generates power), which turns on the lights right away, using energy more efficiently. “You don’t have to buy a new light fixture,” says Correia. “Just open [an existing fixture], take out the T-12 ballast and bulb, and replace them with T-8 models.” Don’t try it at home! For safety purposes, a licensed electrician should perform this service.

6. Make it all run smoothly.
Mr. Electric is installing a new attachment in Hawaii homes, called a Power-Save. Located next to your main electric panel, the gadget (about the size of a small phone book) can reduce energy costs and extend the lives of your appliances. “It smooths out the current that’s coming from your utility company, so you don’t have spikes,” says Correia. A smoother power current means your appliance motors won’t have to heat up and shut down as frequently. Learn more at Power-Save.com.

Photo by Olivier Koning Stacking doors like these, from Coastal Windows, open the entire home to the outdoors, maximizing ventilation.

7. Let the sunshine in.
“We have abundant sunlight, so we advise people to do what’s called daylighting,” says Pam Barrett, of www.coastalwindows.com" target="_blank">Coastal Windows. “That means you’re not relying on energy to light your home during the day.” If you’re able to let the light in, opt for tinted laminated windows. These windows get their tint during production, so it is actually part of the glass pane. Tinted laminated windows reduce the heat coming into the home and keep out UV rays.

8. Vent a little (or a lot!)
Cross-ventilation equals less of a need (sometimes no need at all) to air-condition your home. That’s great news, because air conditioning is one of the most costly electricity uses in Hawaii homes today. "There are things you can do with window selection to improve ventilation,” says Barrett, whether your home is a new build or not.

She recommends windows that open 100 percent, meaning they make 100 percent of the space they occupy free for flowing breezes when opened. Jalousies, awning windows, casement windows and stacking doors are all great options. Awning windows open vertically, with a hinge located on the top or bottom, while jalousied windows rotate open, flattening each pane so the air can flow right through. Casement windows open from left to right and, when opened at a 90-degree angle from the pane, often act as air “scoops,” collecting breezes as they blow in and directing them gently into the home. Stacking doors, spanning the length of your home, “can take away the wall entirely, opening up the entire home,” says Barrett. 

www.breezway.com%20" target="_blank">Breezway Louvre Windows offers louvers with 100 percent ventilation. Their horizontal glass panes rotate to a flat, open position. In addition, Breezway carries hard-coated, low-E panes, which look like regular glass blades, but are designed to keep more UV rays and heat out of the room. What’s more, Breezway uses 10 percent recycled aluminum to construct its windows. “That’s how we control throwing the byproducts of our windows into the landfill,” says company representative Cindy Eleneki.

Photo courtesy of Sunetric Shown here: a photovoltaic system, installed by Sunetric.

9. If you can’t replace, retrofit.
If you’re not ready to invest in a complete set of new windows, consider applying a tint film, like that offered by A-BRIDZ USA. A-bridz’s EcoShield film can be cut to fit almost any existing window, and it’s almost completely clear (no dark color). The film blocks 99 percent of UV rays and 45 percent of total solar heat (compared to just 19.5 percent of heat rejected from traditional, single-pane windows). At about $8 per square foot, it’s an economical option as well.

10. power up with PV.
Photovoltaic (PV) systems (roof panel arrays that convert the sun’s energy into electricity) are becoming more widely used by homeowners. That’s due in part to the federal and state tax credits available to those who purchase PV, as well as the special financing offered by many PV companies in Hawaii.

To that end, www.hawaiienergyconnection.com" target="_blank">Hawaii Energy Connection offers Kumu Kits, which allow homeowners to have PV panels installed five or 10 at a time, usually each year, until they reach the desired number of panels. Having panels installed gradually will enable homeowners to take advantage of annual tax credits. To find out what your city and state tax credits will be, visit dsireusa.org. Your PV company can help you assess your needs. About 30 panels are needed to power the average home, according to Hawaii Energy Connection representative Chris DeBone.

Hawaii’s Sunetric also offers financing options for PV systems, as well as a value-added home-energy audit to homeowners who purchase PV. At the audit, technicians will tour your home and assess your energy use and needs. “We’re there to help the homeowner save on their electricity cost,” says company president Sean Mullen. “The best thing to do first is tackle all of your other efficiency projects to reduce your total load (the amount of energy you need to power your home).” Mullen recommends giving every piece of your home an energy makeover, including installing a solar hot-water heater, before installing a PV system. That way, you’ll maximize all of your investments.