If your clothes washer has a water level-selector, use the lowest practical level for each load of clothes.

Savings: varies

Cost: FREE

By washing your clothes in cold water instead of hot, you'll save almost 90% of the energy needed to run a normal load of laundry and your clothes will come out just as clean. Switching from the warm/warm setting to the cold/cold setting on just 50% of your loads can deliver significant savings.

Savings: up to 100 kWh* per bill, about $61 per year

Cost: FREE

*For the average household with an electric water heater switching to cold water for 4 loads of laundry per week.

By turning down your water heater to 120 degrees Fahrenheit you'll prevent scalding as well as save energy. Before you do so, be sure to check your dishwasher manual, older models may require water hotter than 120 degrees.

Savings: up to 40 kWh* per bill, about $24 per year

Cost: FREE

*For the average Snohomish County household with an electric water heater.

By running the dishwasher only when it’s full you’ll save water and the energy needed to heat the water (about 80% of that used to wash a load of dishes). Skip the pre-rinse, not required by most newer dishwashers, and use the energy saving cycle settings to save even more.

Savings: up to 20 kWh* per bill, about $12 per year

Cost: FREE

*For the average Snohomish County household with an electric water heater.

Reduce your shower time. Even eliminating just a couple minutes per shower can really add up since every minute you cut from your shower time saves an average of 2.5 gallons of water and the energy used to heat the water.

Savings: up to 40 kWh* per bill, about $24 per year

Cost: FREE

*For the average Snohomish County household of 2 people with an electric water heater that reduce their shower times by two minutes.

By using less hot water, you’ll save energy and save money on your water bill. For maximum water efficiency, select a shower head with a flow rate of less than 2.5 gpm. The aerator—the screw-on tip of the faucet—ultimately determines the maximum flow rate of a faucet. Choose faucet aerators – the screw-on tip of the faucet – that have flow rates of no more than 1.0 gpm. When replacing an aerator, bring the one you're replacing to the store with you to ensure a proper fit.

Savings: up to 35 kWh* per bill, about $21 per year

Cost: $10+ for a high-quality, low-flow showerheads and $2+ for faucet aerators -- even less with PUD special pricing for low-flow showerheads at participating retailers!

*For the average Snohomish County household with an electric water heater.

Insulating your hot water pipes reduces heat loss and can raise water temperature 2ºF–4ºF hotter at the faucet or showerhead than un-insulated pipes can deliver, allowing for a lower water temperature setting. You also won't have to wait as long for hot water when you turn on a faucet or showerhead, which helps conserve water.

Insulate all accessible hot water pipes, especially within 3 feet of the water heater. It's also a good idea to insulate the cold water inlet pipes for the first 3 feet.

Savings: varies

Cost: varies

Repair leaking or dripping hot-water faucets to keep the energy used to heat your water from going down the drain.

Savings: varies

Cost: varies

Is your dishwasher more than 10 years old? Replacing it with an ENERGY STAR model will save you energy and water since ENERGY-STAR-rated models use at least 41 percent less energy than the federal minimum standard for energy consumption and a third less water.

Savings: Up to 16 kWh* per bill, about $10 per year.

Cost: varies

*For the average Snohomish County household with an electric water heater.

Replacing a washer that’s more than 10 years old with a new resource-efficient clothes washer will save you energy, water and drying time. Efficient clothes washers not only use less energy, they also use 18 gallons less water to run each load. Less water means a lower water bill and more water for salmon and the environment.

Savings: Up to 42 kWh per bill, about $26 per year.

Get a PUD Smart Reward when you buy an eligible efficient clothes washer. Get the details.

Cost: varies

*For the average Snohomish County household with an electric water heater.

Capture the heat from your shower drain with a drain-water heat recovery system to reduce the energy needed to heat your water. Any hot water that goes down the drain carries away energy with it. That's typically 80–90% of the energy used to heat water in a home. Drain-water heat recovery systems capture this energy to preheat cold water entering the water heater or going to other water fixtures.

Savings: Up to 100 kWh per bill, about $61 per year.

Cost: $500-1000

*For the average Snohomish County household with an electric water heater.

Electric water heaters are one of the largest energy users in most homes. Supplementing your existing system with a solar hot water (SHW) system is a wave to save on energy costs. A SHW system preheats the water that goes into your existing water heater and reduces the amount of electricity your water heater consumes by 50 to 70 percent.

Savings: Up to 400 kWh per bill, about $245 per year.

Cost: $6,500 - $14,000

*For the average Snohomish County household with an electric water heater.