Your home is like any other complex system. If it is well maintained and cared for it will run smoothly and efficiently. If it is not carefully maintenanced though, through the years it will deteriorate and your cost of living will go up! You will save money when you take cost effective measures that can reduce the power you need to stay comfortable.

On average about 38%-40% of our utilities is spent on heating and cooling our home. So how can we improve those numbers!

Place priority on sealing your home to a reasonable degree by ensuring that you have enough insulation in your attic and walls, as well as a high insulation rating on your doors and windows. I can tell you from personal experience that those wooden windows are a killer! It wasn't until I invested in thermal imaging that I really understood how much. At certain parts of the day my windows would get so hot it was like running a 1200w space heater per window, now wonder our A/C had trouble keeping up.
Replace all your light bulbs with LEDs. Did you know that LEDs put out 90% more light than that of a traditional light bulb! Due to their efficiency you can actually unscrew a light bulb out of a socket using your bare hand. Imagine trying to do that with and incandescent, a CFL, or heaven forbid a halogen, they get so hot you cant even touch them with out finding a pot holder. That is because that 90% that LEDs use for light traditional lamps use that 90% as heat! Essentially you can view these now as wasteful products. Not only do they use far more power driving up your electric cost they also heat your home.
For all of you die hard energy savers beware of "Vampire Electronics". Did you know that the average electricity bill is just shy of $2000.00 per year, and that vampire electronics account for 10% of that final bill. That means that for the luxury of using a remote control to on appliances like a TV, using voice activated products, DVRs, or "sleeping" other electronic devices so we don't have to actually plug them in to turn them on we will spend $200.00 per year. Of course this percentage was based on your typical home. If you have more electronics in your home than an average person you could be looking at number closer to $300.00 per year.