What it means. A penny saved is a penny earned. The same goes for a watt of power. Amory Lovins, chairman and chief scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute, coined the term negawatt, which is most succinctly defined as a unit of power not consumed. As the story goes, Lovins came across negawatt as a typo of megawatt in a public-utilities report and thought it captured nicely his belief that the best way to save power or energy is to not consume it in the first place. Read Lovins' 1990 paper The Negawatt Revolution for more details.

Why the buzz? Lovins' eureka moment occurred almost two decades ago. But negawatts are au courant again because energy technology is so central to President-elect Barack Obama's proposed stimulus plan. Three paragraphs into his January 8 speech on the economy, the president-elect talked about the need to "update the way we get our electricity, by starting to build a new smart grid that will save us money . . . " He has also emphasized the importance of weatherizing buildings and homes to make them more energy efficient. Smart grids pave the way for smart meters, which allow you to monitor your electricity use and, in theory, make more informed energy-use decisions. A weatherized home, meanwhile, requires less energy to heat and cool.

Try these simple steps to start amassing negawatts today.

Install compact fluorescent lightbulbs. These energy-efficient bulbs average 70 lumens per watt, compared with the 14 lumens per watt for a standard incandescent bulb. Based on the current national average cost of 10.8 cents for a kilowatt hour of electricity, replacing 10 frequently used incandescent bulbs with CFLs could save you $51 a year.

Use the standby mode on your computer(s). For every computer on which you use the standby or hibernating feature, you can save $25 to $75 each year.

Set back your thermostat(s). Cut heating and cooling bills by up to 20 percent by adjusting the temperature(s) 5° to 10°F at night and when you're out (make it cooler in winter, warmer in summer). And install programmable thermostats.
    Also turn down the thermostat on your water heater from to 120°F and insulate hot-water pipes.

Take advantage of the sun on cold days. Solar heat gain can raise the interior temperature of your home during cold-weather months. Remember to close the blinds at night to minimize heat loss.—Daniel DiClerico

Essential information: When you need to replace major appliances, be sure to buy efficient models, like those covered in this report on energy savers and energyhogs. Then find the best places to shop for your new gear.