Have you switched to Compact Fluorescent Bulbs (CFL's) yet? If not, it is the one thing you can do save energy with the least amount of effort. Do not believe the canards associated with CFL's, which still surface regularly:
CFL light is harsh/blue/cold/insert other pejorative adjective. No, it isn't. Hasn't been for quite a while.
It may not be exactly like incandescents, but it's close. For some unfathomable reason, CFLs come in different light "temperatures" in the geek metric called degrees Kelvin. Remember this magic number : 3000°K. That's warm white, very similar to incandescent. 2700°K may be OK, too, but some consider it too warm..aka too yellow. Don't get cold white (why would you, anyway, with the name?) or, worse, full-spectrum, a marketing ploy for doubling the price of bulbs with a cold blue light that only fish could love.
The dreaded mercury problem. Yes, CFL's have mercury, and no, it's not much of a problem. The newest ones have less than half the mercury of the older ones, and you can (should) recycle the bulbs anyway, so it's kosher.
And no, you do not have to worry about a broken CFL, unless you're planning to lick up the remains. Regardless of the overblown EPA guidelines, cleaning up after a broken CFL just requires common sense. Wear gloves if you insist and wash you hands after. It's overkill to open the windows, shoo the cats and kids away,don a moon-suit, or call 311.
They don't fit the fixture. CFL's are getting smaller all the time, and while there may be some fixtures you may have difficulty with, they'll fit probably 90% of existing fixtures.
They are slow to turn on. Somewhat true; most of the spiral bulbs turn on almost instantly, but somtimes take a few seconds to reach full brightness; it also depends on the manufacturer. IKEA bulbs are notoriously slow and may have single-handedly helped keep this almost-myth alive and kicking. For most applications, it does not matter.
I don't like their looks. Get over it. You're trying to help save the planet.
They are not dimmable. True, you have to pay a lot more for dimmable CFLs which don't dim all the way anyway. If you need that much control (I find that there are only a few lights in my house that I change the brightness of regularly) install halogen lamps in those locations; they are less efficient than CFL's but a few won't do much harm.
They burn out or cannot be used with timers and motion sensors; in fact, most CFL's are marked "not for use with control devices." Ah, this one is interesting as it took me a some research as to why this may happen, and how to get around it. Rest assured, it can be solved.
Answers to above tomorrow.
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