It occurred to me a couple of weeks ago that after 24 years of writing this weekly column for hundreds of newspapers around the country, it might be time to do something else with my spare time, so this is the last chance you're going to get to hear from me in this newspaper. I'm taking my laptop and riding off into the sunset (in my hybrid Prius, of course).

But before I go, I'd like to leave you with some general thoughts on a number of key steps to saving energy and keeping your house more comfortable — sort of like my "greatest hits." I've been going through the stack of file boxes with all my column information in my office, and two things have jumped out at me. First, I estimate that I've received nearly 20,000 emails and letters from readers over the years, so if I never answered a letter or message you sent me, maybe now you'll understand why. Second, before stopping this column, I'd like to emphasize one more time that making your home energy-efficient does a lot more than just lower your utility bills. Your home will be more comfortable, durable, and even a healthier place in which to live.

You'll hear less outdoor noise, have better control over moisture and temperature, and probably need less home maintenance.

The following recommendations deal with those topics that readers have asked about the most. Maybe they'll give you some ideas for things you can do in your own home or apartment to lower energy bills and maximize indoor comfort, even in the coldest days of winter or the hottest ones in summer.

1. There's still a great deal of interest — as well as a lot of misunderstanding — about compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs).

Even though the cost of CFLs has dropped so much over the years — from more than $25 each when I started writing about them to the $3.75 for a package of four bulbs I bought last month at a building supply store, I continue to hear from people all the time that the bulbs are still too expensive. You can run the figures yourself, but even at a couple of dollars each like some places charge, they're going to cost a lot less to buy and operate during their 7- to-10 year lifetime than buying and operating incandescents during the same time period.

They'll use just one-fourth of the energy the incandescents use to give the same amount of light, greatly lowering your energy bills. And what I've always liked best of all in hot weather, they don't put out any heat, as opposed to an incandescent bulb that puts out enough heat to bake food in a kid's toy oven.

2. It seems that every time I have written about ceiling fans, I'd hear from people who told me how wrong I was when I'd say that operating fans without people in the room is just a waste of energy. You wouldn't believe how many people turn on every fan in their home in hot weather and swear that this is cooling off everyone in the house. Sorry, folks, but fans don't cool rooms, they cool people, no matter what you think is happening. It's the breeze from the fan over your skin that makes you feel more comfortable — so comfortable, in fact, that it lets you set the thermostat about 3 degrees higher than you've had it and you'll be just as comfortable. By the way, running the fan without raising the thermostat wastes energy since the fan motor operates on electricity, and sitting too far from its breeze simply won't make you any more comfortable.

3. For those of you who still don't grasp the idea of a programmable thermostat, let me repeat what I've said for years — you don't need one if you can remember every single day to adjust the setting when the house is empty or you're going to sleep or you're otherwise not needing as much heat in winter or cooling in summer. But the automatic thermostat never forgets, never has to get out of bed early in the morning to set the thermostat to the desired level, and never forgets to adjust itself on weekends. And since you can save between 3 and 10 percent for every degree you can lower the setting in winter or raise it in summer from your usual settings, it can help cut your utility bills without any effort on your part.

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