What home energy upgrades offer the fastest payback? Often the answer depends on how much Federal, state and local rebates are available for the upgrade.

For example, if you upgrade your old central air unit with an Energy Star model you can get up to thirty percent of the cost back from the federal government as an incentive. You can also get the same amount for adding insulation to your attic, upgrading your windows and doors and installing radiant barrier insulation.

If no federal rebates are available the payback on the home energy efficiency project depends on how much energy is being wasted. If for example you live in a home with leaking HVAC ducts it will pay you back quite quickly to replace them with new insulated ones.

If your current outside air conditioning unit is fairly recent, and has say a 12 SEER rating and you wish to upgrade to a 14 SEER model, it may take many years to get your money back on the upgrade.

Places where home upgrade money goes farthest and has a quick payout are things like caulking and sealing with weatherstripping around windows and doors and adding insulation to your attic. Adding insulation to the attic is much easier than to the walls of an existing home.

A few dollars worth of weatherstripping and a couple of tubes of cheap caulking can reap hundreds of dollars of savings in a leaky, drafty home.  Replacing your bulbs with compact fluorescents also has a relatively quick payback of only a couple of months.

Before you take on any home energy efficiency project consider doing those things that cost the least and give the most bang for the buck first.

For more on how to save energy at home see: More Ways To Save Energy At Home