Your World-Saving, Bill-Cutting Home Starts Here. Click Around!

27,022 kilowatt-hours. That's how much energy the average U.S. home uses in a year. Scroll around above to see where it all goes, then click through for tips and projects (also listed below). This diagram, based on data from the Department of Energy, can help homeowners spot the best ways to boost efficiency. The numbers may surprise you. Refrigerators and air conditioners tend to be the villains in an electric bill, but they don’t dominate total energy usage. Why? The big picture includes not just electricity, but also fuel for heating, which is the typical home’s true energy hog.

On the other hand, the spread of widescreen TVs, iPod chargers and other electronics is boosting electricity usage. That carries a hidden cost: Power plants consume about 3.3 kilowatt-hours’ worth of fuel for every 1 kwh that reaches a home outlet. The rest of the energy is lost along the way. That plasma TV that eats 166 kwh per year? It accounts for nearly 550 kwh of energy generation at the plant.

Note: A fuel’s energy content typically is shown in British thermal units (BTU). To make comparisons among appliances easier, we list kilowatt-hour equivalents. 1 kwh = 3413 BTU.