First start by talking with your landlord about winterizing older windows, installing a programmable thermostat and replacing furnace filters throughout the winter. Ask your county or city government if they offer free thermostats to install these and more energy-saving devices. Some offer free energy audits that can help convince your landlord to make upgrades.

As a renter or home owner, your priority is to reduce energy costs quickly and inexpensively. Here is a way to save energy in your rental home.

f you’re going to be away from home for a long period of time, set the temperature even higher in summer and lower in winter. It doesn’t take long to heat or cool your home back to your preferred temperature.  Put in a programmable thermostat: If you don’t have a programmable temperature controller, talk to your landlord about installing one. A programmable thermostat allows you to program different temperatures at different parts of the day, giving you maximum control over energy use and comfort without having to remember to make manual changes. A programmable thermostat is particularly handy in winter, to warm things up before you get out of bed or return home in the evening. Most of these temperature controllers have a manual override, so you can make short-term adjustments on particularly hot or cold days.

For example, during the air conditioning season, a programmable thermostat used in a home may be set to allow the temperature in the house to rise during the workday when no one will be at home. It may then be set to turn on the air conditioning before the arrival of occupants, allowing the house to be cool upon the arrival of the occupants while still having saved air conditioning energy during the peak outdoor temperatures. The reduced cooling required during the day also decreases the demands placed upon the electrical supply grid.

Conversely, during the heating season, the programmable thermostat may be set to allow the temperature in the house to drop when the house is unoccupied during the day and also at night after all occupants have gone to bed, re-heating the house prior to the occupants arriving home in the evening or waking up in the morning. Since most people sleep better when a room is cooler and the temperature differential between the interior and exterior of a building will be greatest on a cold winter night, this reduces energy losses.

Similar scenarios are available in commercial buildings, with due consideration of the building’s occupancy patterns.

With the difference in temperature between interior and exterior being reduced, it is not unusual to achieve 30% energy usage reductions with the default program on residential thermostats, though adjusting the default settings may improve or reduce energy usage.