How to Really Save Energy

Rather than just re-invent the energy wheel, we should all grease the ones we have, a new study suggests.

While investment in renewable energy technologies is on the rise, breakthroughs and widespread new installations of things like wind turbines and solar cells come at great cost and the end results can be uncertain. But investing $520 billion in making homes and businesses more efficient would bring $1.2 trillion in savings, The New York Times reports.

The researchers suggest investing $52 billion a year — in things like replacing old appliances and sealing ducts — to reap the rewards by 2020. The savings would come through a 23 percent reduction in energy use. Clearly, however, political and public will would be needed to implement such a big investment, estimated to be about four times what we spend annually now.