Submitted by EnergyTechStocks.com

Maybe the best energy investment tip of the week can be found buried on page 27 of last Sunday’s New York Times in a story about how Americans are cutting back on spending.

It was just a throwaway line in a section describing what shoppers are not spending their money on. According to the Times, shoppers are not spending as much on clothing, high-end restaurants, kitchen renovations and much more. One retailing analyst is quoted as saying that people are changing their spending habits in response to the bad economic times.

In the middle of all this is a sentence worth remembering. “Another top seller at home improvement stores: programmable thermostats and insulation, which can cut fuel bills.”

The takeaway for investors is that, as Americans are forced to spend less, they may be recognizing the value of home energy efficiency and may be spending now to save later on their utility bills. Of course this is only a snippet of information, but when it’s happening at Home Depot, chances are it’s happening everywhere in America, whether or not there are yet statistics to back it up.

Add to this the growing indications that new “green” homes are selling faster than standard homes (thanks again to lower utility bills) and by this summer or fall companies that make home insulation, programmable thermostats and other energy efficiency products could be the object of investors’ attention. All of which is why you may want to take a closer look right now at companies such as insulation manufacturer Owens Corning and programmable thermostat maker Honeywell. General Electric and Philips also might be worth your time, thanks to their compact fluorescent light bulbs. Thanks to its Delta faucet division, Masco Corp. may also be worth a look.