Although it can seem overwhelming at first, reducing your energy usage doesn't have to be time-consuming or difficult. Here are five easy ways to be more energy efficient in your daily life.

Manage Your Voltage

The more voltage a device has, the more energy will be lost as heat. This is a problem because extra heat reduces your device's life and also causes your air conditioning to work harder in order to keep your home cool, which will increase your electric bill. Therefore, it's important that you replace your current devices with low voltage systems. Some common examples of these systems include thermostats, doorbells and garage door openers.

Turn Off Your Lights

This may seem like an obvious one, but turning off lights when you're not in the room or away from home can go a long way in saving energy. Although turning on the lights has probably become a habit, you probably don't need them on in the daytime. Try opening your curtains to get some natural sunlight into your home. As an additional benefit, turning off your lights can cool down your home, which means that you don't have to blast your air conditioner and waste even more energy.

Install a Smart Power Strip

Unlike a traditional power strip, a smart power strip can shut down power to devices that have entered standby mode. Even if you're not using an electronic, leaving it plugged into a traditional power strip will still use up energy. Common devices such as printers, plasma TVs and computers continue to consume power even when they're on standby mode. These are known as vampire loads, and they can increase your electric bill and carbon footprint. A smart power strip is convenient because it shuts off extra power without you having to constantly unplug your devices when you're not using them.

Switch Your Light Bulbs

Traditional incandescent light bulbs are the most commonly-used bulb in America, with over 80% of households owning at least one. However, incandescent bulbs are extremely energy-inefficient, with 90% of the energy that they consume being lost as heat. This means that they only convert 10% of energy into actual light. In addition, incandescent bulbs have a short life of only 1,000 hours. LED bulbs are the more efficient option, as they use up to 80% less energy and can last for 50,000 hours or more. Unlike incandescent bulbs, LEDs emit very little heat and therefore won't cause you to increase your air conditioning to keep your home cool.

Change Your Thermostat Habits

You may be using your thermostat inefficiently without even realizing. A common mistake that people make is trying to heat or cool their home faster by dramatically increasing or decreasing the temperature. Contrary to popular belief, this won't make your thermostat work faster. Instead, this will just make it work harder to reach the temperature you've set. Another mistake you may be making is leaving your thermostat at the same temperature, which can cost you as much as $180 a year. Instead, when you know that you'll be away from your home for eight hours or more, be sure to set your thermostat approximately 5 degrees higher in the summer and 10 degrees lower in the winter. Lastly, studies have shown that people who constantly adjust the temperature on their thermostat waste more energy than those who leave it alone. Changing the temperature causes your furnace or air conditioner to stop and start, which wastes energy and money.

Making your home more energy-efficient can not only protect the environment but save money on your electric bills. Following these five tips can help you reduce your energy usage.