(MONEY Magazine) – Back in the early '70s, OPEC's oil shocks made energy conservation all the rage. But now, President Clinton's proposed $22-billion-a-year BTU energy tax -- virtually certain to pass Congress -- has created a fresh incentive to rediscover how to cut your fuel bills. The Administration figures the tax, to be phased in equally over three years starting July 1, 1994, will add 7 1/2 cents a gallon to the price of gasoline, an average of 3% to home electricity bills, 4% to gas bills and 3.5% to oil heating bills. Even if the oil tax is delayed a year, it's only a matter of time before a Boston family wasting energy with Nixon-era appliances and a gas-guzzling car could potentially slice its energy expenses and taxes by a total of $1,500 a year, according to John Morrill, co-author of The Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings (American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, 2140 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, Calif. 94704; $8.95). Your best moves: -- Check your furnace's efficiency. Request a home energy audit from your utility company or a heating contractor (cost: up to roughly $100) to check whether your furnace's fuel utilization efficiency rating is below the average of 70%. Such a rating means 30% of the heat generated is vanishing up the chimney. If you score below 70%, definitely ask if the technician or contractor can raise the efficiency level to 75%, cutting your heating bills by as much as 13%. All you may need is a smaller $5 nozzle on an oil furnace or a $100 burner assembly for your gas furnace. If you need a new furnace -- and if you heat with oil -- think about switching to gas, if it's available locally. ''Heating with efficient oil is more expensive than heating with efficient gas,'' says Roger McDonald, an engineer with the U.S. Department of Energy in Brookhaven, N.Y. -- Replace your icebox. Aside from the furnace, your refrigerator consumes the most energy in your home. Junking a 20-year-old refrigerator for a new $650 model will save you about $114 a year in electricity costs -- and thereby pay for itself in six years. The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy recommends energy-hoarding, side-by-side refrigerator/freezer models from Admiral, General Electric, Hotpoint, Kenmore, Magic Chef and Maytag. In addition, most utility companies offer one-time rebates of about $80 to customers who buy new, energy-efficient models, so check with your utility. -- Get a ceiling fan to lower your air-conditioning bills. The constant breeze ^ makes 73 degrees F feel like 69 degrees F. You can then raise your thermostat; every extra degree will chop 3% to 5% off your house's air-conditioning bills. -- Make your next car a gas miser. If you drive the average 12,000 miles a year, you can save $287 annually in BTU taxes and in gasoline costs by trading in a 20-mpg car for one that gets at least 32 miles a gallon. The new $10,000 to $20,000 models with the best mileage: the Honda Civic VX (55 mpg/highway) and the Civic EX four-door (35 mpg). According to MONEY's exclusive annual car-cost ratings (December '92), both Civics are also tops in their price range in the category that counts most: total annual ownership costs.

CHART: NOT AVAILABLE CREDIT: Source: American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy CAPTION: You could cut your energy bills plus your share of the coming BTU tax nearly $600 a year by upgrading your car, furnace and fridge.