No matter how old or new your appliances are, HOW you use your appliances can determine whether you are making the most efficient use of the energy they run on. When you use energy efficiently, your appliances can do their jobs better, with less energy.

For example, when someone covers a pot while cooking, the heat energy from the burner stays in the pot and cooks the food rather than rising into the air. This cooks the food more efficiently, and saves energy. And when you keep doors and windows closed on hot days, your air conditioner can do its job more efficiently because warm outside air isn't let into the room.

In these cases, people hold the key to making appliances work most efficiently. The following pages give you more examples of ways you can use energy more efficiently.

Conservation vs. Energy Efficiency

Conservation means using less energy. Turning out lights and taking shorter showers are examples of energy conservation.

Energy efficiency means using less energy while getting more service from your appliances and equipment. You can do this in two ways:

• By practicing energy-efficient behaviors like covering pots while cooking.
• By using energy-efficient products like compact fluorescent lights, which give the same amount of light for less energy, or energy-efficient showerheads, which give you a comfortable shower while using less water.