Here are four tips from the Leviton Institute that can take the effort out of saving dollars on your electric bill.

1. Install dimmer switches.
By dimming the lights in a room you use less electricity. For example, a light bulb at 50 per cent brightness uses approximately 40 per cent less electricity. A dimmer switch also extends the life of your bulbs. A bulb at 50 per cent brightness will last approximately 20 times longer.

2. Install occupancy sensors.
An occupancy sensor automatically turns lights on when someone enters a room, and then turns them off after the person leaves the area. They’re ideal for closets, hallways, the laundry room and garages—all the places where lights may needlessly be left on for hours, or even days. Wall-switch models are designed to replace standard wall switches, so they’re easy to install.

3. Install motion detectors outside.
Many homeowners know that good outdoor lighting makes their home less appealing to a burglar. But keeping outdoor floodlights on all night can be expensive. Instead, install a motion detector to control your outdoor security lights. Motion detectors are programmed to react to body heat. When they detect the presence of a person, they automatically turn on the outside lights. They also turn the lights off when they no longer detect the presence of body heat.

4. Install digital timers.
If anyone in your family has left a bathroom exhaust fan or a heat lamp on all day, you’ll appreciate the convenience of timers—and the fact that they can reduce energy consumption. The latest digital timers are installed right in the wall, wherever you would put a standard wall switch. Many versions come from the factory with preset time intervals, and others offer programmable time settings. To use a timer with a preset interval, simply push the button for the length of time you want the fan or lamp to be on. The timer will turn it off automatically. You can use digital timers with longer time intervals to control your outdoor landscape lighting.

So, instead of telling your family to turn off the lights when they leave a room, which seldom produces the desired results, consider installing one or more of these new electrical devices. They take the effort out of saving electricity and they’ll pay for themselves quickly with the amount of electricity they save.

Even though it’s seldom on the redecorating to-do list, this one item occupies a prominent place in every room of your house. It’s the wallplate that goes over a light switch or an electrical outlet.

Dimmer Switches: Dimmer switches can make a big difference throughout the house. In the kitchen, turn the lights on high when cooking or cleaning up. For other times of the day or night, turn the lights lower. This saves electricity and creates a warm and cozy atmosphere.

Dimming the lights in the family room will create a more relaxing environment for watching TV or listening to music. For entertaining, dimmer switches let you quickly change the light level to match the occasion. Dimmers are also perfect for controlling the lights in bedrooms and bathrooms.

Occupancy Sensors: Wall-switch occupancy sensors can take the place of light switches. For the very young, and the very old, these new devices are ideal. As soon as you walk into a room or hallway, the occupancy sensor detects your presence and automatically turns the lights on. Once you leave that area, the device turns the lights off. Occupancy sensors can also be used in closets, basements, attics and laundry rooms.

Digital Timers: To avoid forgetting to turn off a bathroom exhaust fan or heat lamp, consider installing a digital timer. These new devices replace conventional switches and come with factory pre-set time intervals. In a bathroom, a timer with 5, 10, 15 and 20 minute intervals is a good choice. To control your outside lights, you can use a digital timer that has longer time intervals.

GFCI Outlets: An electrical device you should have in your kitchen is a special outlet called a Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter, commonly called a GFCI. The National Electrical Code requires that all homes built since the mid-1970s have GFCIs installed wherever an electrical outlet is within six feet of a water source.

If you live in an older home, you may not have GFCI outlets in your kitchen. Since these devices are designed to protect you from potentially fatal electrical shocks, the Leviton Institute urges you to have GFCIs installed in your kitchen and bathrooms, and to replace regular outdoor receptacles with GFCIs.

If your home was built more than 60 years ago, the Leviton Institute recommends that you call a licensed electrical contractor to inspect your home’s wiring and wiring devices. This inspection is particularly important if you’ve added appliances that use a lot of electricity, such as a clothes dryer, air conditioner, space heater or dishwasher.

Here are the most frequently asked questions homeowners have about older house wiring:

1. What are the signs of potential electrical hazards in the home?
Some things to look for: Room lights dim when the refrigerator or air conditioner kicks on; the television screen shrinks; circuit breakers frequently trip or fuses frequently blow; outlets or dimmer switches seem hot to the touch. These conditions indicate that the electrical wiring in your house is overloaded.

2. Is an old-fashioned fuse box a hazard?
The short answer is no, because fuses provide the same protection against overloaded wiring as circuit breakers. However, when fuse boxes were in widespread use, most homes had only 30 or 60-ampere service.

Today’s homes need at least 150 to 200 ampere service to safely supply power for major appliances. If you have a fuse box and you’ve added any large appliances over the years, the Leviton Institute recommends that you have an electrical contractor inspect your home wiring to make sure it’s still safe.

3. How can I tell when an electrical outlet isn’t safe?
There are three indicators of an unsafe outlet. If an outlet can no longer hold a plug snugly; if any parts of the outlet are broken; or if the outlet feels hot to the touch. If any of these conditions exist, the outlet should be replaced.

4. Can I add more outlets in the kitchen?
Most likely, yes. And don’t forget to install GFCI outlets in the kitchen. You should also check your homeowners insurance policy and local laws, since you may be required to have a licensed electrician do this type of work rather than a handyman.

5. How long does electrical wiring last?
That’s a hard question to answer, since it depends on the type of use and abuse the system has experienced over the years. If you have any doubts about your wiring, or notice some frayed or broken insulation, have a complete inspection of your home’s electrical wiring.

6. How long do outlets and switches last?
It depends on use. Electricians will tell you they see outlets more than 50 years old that still work fine, and others that are worn out after only a few years.

Whether you’re using a very long outdoor extension cord to run an electric lawn mower, or a short one to power up a tool for a backyard project, the wrong extension cord can damage, and eventually ruin, the motor in your tools. The reason is simple: If the extension cord isn’t delivering enough power to the motor, the motor will begin to overheat. In the worst case, the motor will completely burn out from the excessive heat.

Think of that extension cord as though it were a garden hose carrying water. A large diameter hose can carry more water than a smaller diameter hose. The same is true with extension cords. Larger diameter wires can carry more power than wires with smaller diameters. And the bigger the motor in your power tool, the more power it needs.

How do you determine the size of the wire in an extension cord? The easiest way is to check the markings on the outer jacket of the extension cord. You’ll be looking for a number followed by the letters AWG printed right on the cord. The typical outdoor extension cords you’ll find in a hardware store or home center are 16 AWG, 14 AWG, or 12 AWG.

But there’s a twist to wire numbers: The smaller the number, the bigger the wire size. The 12 AWG wire can carry much more power than a 16 AWG wire. That’s why you would use a 12 AWG extension cord to run the big motor on a table saw, for example.