10 energy-efficient upgrades to do this weekend

Replace your shower head

• Estimated time: 15 minutes
• Estimated cost: $10 to $60

Install a new WaterSense-labeled showerhead and you could save more than 2,300 gallons of water annually, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Using less hot water will cut your energy bills, and your local utilities may offer a rebate, too. The EPA says that models labeled WaterSense still provide a satisfying shower.

Your shower head is a water-waster if it fills a gallon bucket in 20 seconds or less. To find out how much water and money you could save in your home with water-saving improvements, use the calculator at EPA.gov.

• Bing Cube: Find luxury shower heads

• Video: Roll out the rain barrel

• Uncover remodeling and renovation ideas in our Design Center

Add aerators to your faucets

• Estimated time: About five minutes per faucet
• Estimated cost: $2 to $10

You can save an additional 500 gallons of water annually simply by replacing a standard aerator, which delivers more than 2.5 gallons per minute, with a low-flow one, with a flow of 0.5 to 1 gallon per minute.

Low-flow aerators will cut water and energy usage while maintaining adequate water pressure.

Unsure whether your faucets are water-wasters? Put a quart container under the sink faucet and let 'er flow. If the container fills in less than five seconds, get busy.

In the kitchen, you might want greater flow — say, 2 to 4 gallons per minute — for filling a pot or the sink.

• Bing Cube: Check out the latest modern faucets

• Video: Roll out the rain barrel

• Uncover remodeling and renovation ideas in our Design Center

Install a water-efficient toilet

• Estimated time: One hour
• Estimated cost: $200 or more

The EPA estimates that a family of four replacing a home's older toilets with WaterSense-labeled models average $90 in annual savings on their water bill and $2,000 in the toilet's lifetime.

Concerned about performance? Reviews of the American Standard Cadet 3 high-efficiency toilet say it is "easy to install and flushes like no tomorrow. You hit that handle, your problems disappear."

If you don't feel comfortable installing it yourself, you can hire a contractor for about $150.

• Video: Discover easy-to-install home-repair innovations

• MSN Money: Lowe's gives itself a makeover

• On our blog, 'Listed': What's making a stink? It may be your P-trap

Switch to fluorescent light bulbs

• Estimated time: 15 minutes
• Estimated cost: $2 to $15 for specialty bulbs

As the days get shorter, you'll keep the lights on more. Now is a good time to switch from traditional, incandescent light bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs. Energy Star-qualified CFLs use 75% less energy and last as much as 10 times longer than incandescents.

Start with your five most-used light fixtures, and you can save more than $65 annually. Don't forget about your hard-to-reach locations, too. Don't want to climb a ladder? Use the Bayco 11-foot Light Bulb Changer.

Read:  5 best energy-efficient light bulbs

• On our blog, 'Listed': Will white appliances surpass steel?

• Video: 3 plumbing problems you can fix yourself

Install a programmable thermostat

• Estimated time: 30 minutes
• Estimated cost: $25 to $250

With a programmable thermostat, you can preset temperatures for your home and automatically reduce heating and cooling when you don't need them as much. Energy Star says an average household can save about $180 annually on its energy bills by properly setting its programmable thermostat and maintaining those settings.

This is a low-voltage wiring installation that will involve two to 10 wires. If you don't feel comfortable following the instructions, a contractor will probably charge $75 to $150 for installation.

• Video: Discover easy-to-install home-repair innovations

• MSN Money: Lowe's gives itself a makeover

• On our blog, 'Listed': What's making a stink? It may be your P-trap

Build or install an insulated attic hatch

• Estimated time: Several hours
• Estimated cost: $30 if DIY; $30 to $240 for ready-made models

If your attic entry is not insulated, your home gains heat in summer and loses it in winter, jacking up your energy bills.

You have your choice of several ready-made products, as well.

Read:  5 best energy-efficient light bulbs

• On our blog, 'Listed': Will white appliances surpass steel?

• Video: 3 plumbing problems you can fix yourself

Stop chimney drafts

• Estimated time: 15 minutes
• Estimated cost: $55 for ready-made draft-stopper

Even with the damper closed, your home's heated air goes up the chimney in winter and hot outdoor air comes down in the summer. When you're not using it your fireplace, plug the flue with a chimney balloon like the Draftstopper from Battic Door Energy Conservation Products.

For a really cheap alternative, you can make a stopper out of an old seat cushion or a pillow placed in a heavy plastic bag. Stuff the cushion into the flue and tie a long tail to it, so you don't forget about it the next time you make a fire.

• Video: Roll out the rain barrel

• On our blog, 'Listed': 5 better ways to save on energy costs

• Uncover remodeling and renovation ideas in our Design Center

Drain sediment from your water heater

• Estimated time: 15 minutes
• Estimated cost: Free

To ensure your water heater's performance and longevity, drain it annually to get rid of accumulated sediment — sand, minerals andr other nonsoluble stuff that settles at the bottom of the tank.

A good tipoff that you should do this? The heater sounds like a coffee pot, making bubbling or burping noises.

The basic strategy: Attach a garden hose to the drain valve at the bottom of the tank and run it outdoors or to a utility tub.

Read:  5 best energy-efficient light bulbs

• On our blog, 'Listed': Will white appliances surpass steel?

• Video: 3 plumbing problems you can fix yourself

Replace your washing-machine hoses

• Estimated time: 10 minutes
• Estimated cost: $10 to $20

Washing-machine hoses don't last forever, regardless of the material they're made from — reinforced rubber or stainless steel, even those touted as "burst-proof." A broken hose can deluge your home with hundreds of gallons of water per hour, and your homeowners insurance probably won't cover the flood.

Check the hoses frequently for rusting, bulging, cracking, fraying and leaks. All are signs that you should replace the hoses now. Otherwise, State Farm recommends that you replace them every three to five years. While you're at it, check the hoses leading to water heaters, dishwashers and refrigerator icemakers.

Read:  10 ways to avoid a plumbing nightmare

• Video: Roll out the rain barrel

• Uncover remodeling and renovation ideas in our Design Center

Add insulating window treatments

• Estimated time: One hour for drapes; 30 minutes per blind
• Estimated cost: $30 to $200 or more

You can increase your comfort and cut your energy bills this winter with thermal window coverings. Duette Architella honeycomb shades, by Hunter Douglas, are the only window covering qualifying for the federal energy-efficiency tax credit of 30% of the cost, up to a maximum of $1,500, if you install them before Dec. 31. The shade more than doubles the insulating value of a double-paned, low-emittance window, when “inside mounted” and fully recessed within the window casement.

Country Curtains also sells foam-backed thermal curtains and insulated liners that you can hang behind your existing curtains with heavy-duty double rods that hold the curtain and liner.

Read:  What you should know before replacing your windows

• Video: How to fix a whistling window

• Bing: More ways to save on energy costs