Such concerns are also driving the stores' sales of more affordable items, such as programmable thermostats ($30 to $100), compact fluorescent lightbulbs ($7.98 and up), and solar-powered landscape lights ($14.97 and up). The chain recently set up a "Fight High Energy Costs" area on its Web site, www.homedepot.com.
At Lowe's home-improvement stores, the sales staff - tutored in the savings that consumers can reap with more efficient products - are on the same wavelength.
A new refrigerator that merits the government's Energy Star label "can cut an electric bill almost $100 a year," said John Melnick, manager of Lowe's Plymouth Meeting store, where furnace filters, weather stripping, fluorescent bulbs and ceiling fans have been hot.
Products drawing attention include window shades that trap drafts and heat in a honeycomb construction, digital switches that turn off lights in low-use rooms after giving warnings - and even $110 meters to gauge the electricity used by individual appliances or equipment.
If there's a badge of honor in this war on energy waste, it's the Energy Star. The logo goes on products ranging from windows to dishwashers to home office equipment that the Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Energy have identified as tops in the high-efficiency heap.
The federal program estimates you can save 30 percent on your total energy bill through a combination of strategies and wise buying choices.
One place to start is the refrigerator, which according to Home Depot's Web site may be responsible for up to 15 percent of that bill.
If a refrigerator is 10 years old, it's guzzling more than twice the juice of a new Energy Star model, according to www.energystar.gov.
One Energy Star line that has garnered press is Kenmore's new Elite refrigerators. You can run one of the big 26-cubic-footers on the energy it takes to keep a 75-watt lightbulb lit, Sears says.
