QUIZ: Test your Home Energy IQ

According to the most recent Residential Energy Consumption Survey, heating and cooling accounted for 48 percent of total energy consumption in American homes. However, this number is down from 58 percent in 1993 as a result of improved technology and products such as more energy efficient heating and cooling systems, better insulation and energy efficient windows.

According to the Energy Information Administration, average annual electricity consumption for a U.S. residential utility customer was 10,908 kilowatt hours, an average of 909 kilowatt hours per month.

The 115 million residences in America today collectively use an estimated 22.5 percent of the country's total energy. The typical U.S. family spends at least $2,200 a year on home utility bills. Switching to ENERGY STAR products and making home energy upgrades can help lower these costs.

In 2013, Louisiana had the highest average annual electricity consumption per residential utility customer at 15,270 kilowatt hours. Hawaii had the lowest average annual electricity consumption per residential utility customer at 6,176 kilowatt hours.

A phantom load, also called standby power, refers to power consumed by electronics and appliances while they are switched off. According to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, a typical American home has forty products constantly drawing power. Together these amount to almost 10 percent of residential electricity use.

Using ENERGY STAR certified products -- which incorporate advanced technologies that use 10 to 15 percent less energy and water than standard models -- throughout your home could save nearly $750 over the lifetime of the products. For example, ENERGY STAR clothes washers use about 40 percent less energy than conventional clothes washers while reducing water bills.

You could save roughly 10 percent a year on heating and cooling costs by using a programmable thermostat. Also, by resetting it when you are asleep or away from home, you won't have to sacrifice comfort for savings.

Despite what you may think, closing vents could actually strain an HVAC system, resulting in more energy use, not less.

Geothermal heat pumps use the constant temperature of the earth as the exchange medium instead of the outside air temperature. These type of heat pumps can reduce energy use by 30 to 60 percent , control humidity, are sturdy and reliable, and fit in a wide variety of homes.

Cool roofs can be made of a highly reflective type of paint, a sheet covering, or highly reflective tiles or shingles. By installing a cool roof, you can lower the temperature of your roof by up to 50 degress fahrenheit and save energy and money by using less air conditioning.

Insulation is made from a variety of materials, usually comes in four types: rolls and batts, loose-fill, rigid foam, and foam-in-place. One of the most cost-effective ways to make your home more comfortable year-round is to add insulation to your attic, including the attic trap or access door.

Tankless water heaters, also known as demand-type or instantaneous water heaters, provide hot water only as it is needed. They don't produce the standby energy losses associated with storage water heaters, which can save you money. For homes that use 41 gallons or less of hot water daily, demand water heaters can be 24 to 34 percent more energy efficient than conventional storage tank water heaters.

The light-emitting diode (LED) is one of today's most energy-efficient and rapidly-developing lighting technologies. ENERGY STAR-qualified LEDs use only about 20 to 25 percent of the energy and last up to 25 times longer than traditional incandescent bulbs.