CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Cutting energy use and cutting utility bills for homeowners and small businesses is not difficult. Why do I care?

Because coal-fired electric power use is the number one source of carbon dioxide emissions that cause climate change, and because I want to be warm in the winter, cool in the summer, and not throw my money away by needlessly giving it to my power company, whose rates have almost doubled in the last 10 years. I have the same attitude toward my gas company.

Back in 1993, I was using about 500 kilowatt-hours of electricity per month. When I saw a special rebate being offered by Appalachian Power, I installed five compact fluorescent light bulbs where I needed light the most, two in the living room and 3 in the kitchen. I saw my bill drop from 500 to 400 kwh. Those bulbs cost me $25 total after the rebates, and I saved about $7. per month after I installed them. So it took me less than 4 months to gain back the cost of the bulbs in savings on my bill, and thereafter I saved $84 a year. After 10 years (the bulbs lasted at least 10 years), I saved over $800 for my $25 investment.

Next, I installed a $25-programmable thermostat and set it to go down during the day when I went to work, come back up to a comfortable setting before I got home, then back down at night when I went to bed. That device saved me more than $25 per month on my gas bill when I installed it so it paid for itself right away, and saved me hundreds per year on heating and cooling. I had already added insulation to my attic, way before I did anything else.

When it came time to replace my washing machine and dryer, I opted for a gas dryer because I wanted to reduce my electricity consumption. My hot water heater is also gas. The bottom line for me is, the electric power I receive from a coal-fired generator has already lost more than half of its energy due to inherent inefficiency in the generating process. By burning gas directly in my home, the entire process is more efficient, meaning less greenhouse gasses and lower bills for me.

I also used removable plastic window frames in the winter that effectively cut the heat losses out of my old metal frame, single-pane windows. I reused those wooden and plastic frames for several years before I finally replaced all my windows with modern ones. I bought several more CFL bulbs, so all but a few lights are efficient ones. I was careful to buy the bulbs that are "soft white" in color and mostly 75 watts or 100 watts equivalent. My wife uses a 3-way CFL to read by that can reach 150 watts equivalent but uses only 29 watts on the high setting. And, we replaced our refrigerator recently which uses 43 percent less electricity than the same-sized 10-year-old model we replaced. I still have incandescent bulbs in the bathroom, hallway and dining area but those have dimmer switches and I use them very little. (The new incandescents coming out now will be more efficient than older ones).

I ultimately reached a low level of only 200 kwh per month, roughly one-third of the average for West Virginia. Since I got married a few years ago, that has climbed a bit, but still I pay $20 to $35 a month, year-round. I am just as warm in the winter, just as cool in the summer, have plenty of light, and the beer is just as cold as it was in 1993. As Bill Clinton said recently, this is about as close to a free lunch as we can get.

Harman is retired and lives in St. Albans.