Believe me, they make a big difference. My wife and I are shopping for a new stove and a front load washer this week. Here are a few things that I have learned. Starting with "small changes" that you can make - light bulbs. There are now highly efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) that last for years, use a third of the energy of regular bulbs and actually produce more light. Look for the government's ENERGY STAR label, which means the bulb has been tested for quality and efficiency. While each ENERGY STAR qualified bulb can cost more initially - anywhere from $4 to $15 a piece - remember that there are two price tags: what you pay at the register and what you pay in energy costs over the bulb's lifetime. You may pay more up front, but you will actually save hundreds of dollars in your household budget over the long term because of their long life. Five ENERGY STAR light bulbs will save your household at least $150 over their lifetime. Here's the impact. If every household in the U.S. replaced a burned-out bulb with an energy-efficient, ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescent bulb, the cumulative effect is enormous. It would prevent greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to that from nearly 800,000 cars. It would also save enough energy to light 2.5 million homes for a year. Your refrigerator is the biggest consumer of electricity among household appliances and responsible for 10-15 percent of the electricity you use each year. Older refrigerators, as a rule, are far less efficient than the newest ones - as much as 50 percent less efficient. All ENERGY STAR qualified clothes washers save energy and water. The most efficient ENERGY STAR qualified clothes washer can save up to 6,500 gallons of water per year per household and can save you more than $100 annually in energy and water costs over standard-efficiency models. They also require less detergent, decrease drying time and offer gentler cleaning action, which reduces wear and tear on your clothes