Easily become energy efficient!

Reducing home energy usage can add comfort and provide long-term financial gains for consumers. Energy conservation means taking steps and adopting habits that decrease the amount of energy used to operate one's home. Energy efficiency means using improved technology to decrease energy demand. Both of these areas offer homeowners ways to reduce their energy bills - and actions range from very simple efforts like closing windows and turning off lights, to installing new, high-efficiency heating and cooling equipment.

The average Canadian household spends $1,200 to $1,800 each year on utility bills. Of this total, energy usage breaks down in the following way:
- Heating and cooling (1/2)
- Appliances and lighting (1/3)
- Water heating (1/8)

Below are some simple conservation and efficiency improvements that most homeowners can undertake this season:

Set your thermostat to a lower temperature in the Fall. Or, install a programmable thermostat ($40 - $100) that you can program to match the heating and cooling of your home to your own personal schedule. These units typically offer savings of 10 to 15 percent without compromising comfort.

Check and change air filters regularly. Dirty filters can reduce heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system efficiency.

Replace high-use lights with compact fluorescent lamps. Light fixtures used more than two hours per day on average are good candidates for replacement with compact fluorescent lamps. The energy bill savings will more than pay for the extra cost of the lamps over their lifetime, and you will have to replace fewer lamps because fluorescent lamps last ten times longer than ordinary light bulbs. Installing motion sensors or timers on outdoor lights, instead of leaving the lights on during nighttime hours, can also help to reduce the electricity bill.

Look for sources of air leakage in your house. Outdoor air leakage comprises up to 30 per cent of the overall heating and cooling load, so cutting down on air leakage offers significant savings for a job that requires little in the way of costs. Common products like weather stripping can be used to plug leaks from cracks and holes at locations like door frames, windows, and attic access hatches.

Check insulation levels and possibly add additional insulation in attics and crawlspaces. Local utilities or Home Builder Associations can help you determine the recommended insulation levels for your area. This conservation effort decreases heating and cooling costs and increases comfort.

For homes with forced-air heating/cooling systems, seal duct joints with mastic or high-quality, UL-listed foil-backed duct tape and insulate ducts in unconditioned spaces like attics and crawlspaces.

Set the temperature on your water heater to 115 to 120º F. Higher settings are unnecessary and more costly.

Consider alternatives to help keep your home cool. Fans and dehumidifiers use less energy than air conditioners and can help to make the home comfortable during the warm months.

When buying or replacing appliances, choose energy efficient models.

Weatherize your windows, and consider replacing single-pane windows. Double-pane windows that are gas-filled with high performance glass (e.g. "low-e" glass) perform much better than their single-pane counterparts.

Use less hot water. The less hot water you use, the less your water heater has to work. To accomplish this, consider replacing your shower head with a low-flow shower fixture, use your dishwasher's "energy saver" and/or "water saver" setting, and consider switching your washing machine's temperature setting from hot to warm or cold.

Practice conservation habits to save energy. Turn off lights that aren't being used, take shorter showers, and run the dishwasher only for full loads. All of these small steps can have a big impact on utility bills.

Keep your utility bills low, and the money in your wallet - sounds like a win-win to me!

More Fall Maintenance Tips

Better safe than sorry, here's some more maintance tips for this fall:

- Check all window and door locks for proper operation

- Inspect your home for water leaks

- Review your fire escape plan with your family

- Make sure there are working nightlights at the top and bottom of all stairs

- Protect your home from frozen pipes

- Replace your furnace filter

- Run all gas-powered lawn equipment until the fuel is gone

- Test your emergency generator (if applicable)

- Have a certified chimney sweep inspect and clean the flues and check your fireplace damper

- Remove bird nests from chimney flues and outdoor electrical fixtures

- Inspect and clean dust from the covers of your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms

- Make sure the caulking around doors and windows is adequate to reduce heat/cooling loss

- Make sure that the caulking around your bathroom fixtures is adequate to prevent water from seeping into the
sub-flooring

Fall Home Maintenance

Well it's that time of year again, summer has ended, the kids have gone back to school and the days have started to get shorter, it's time to think about getting your house ready for a cooler season.

For your convenience, I have put together a list of home maintenance tips for fall. 

– Have your furnace and heating system serviced by a qualified technician.

– Check venting systems of all of your equipment to ensure there are no obstructions. For example, check your chimney for things such as bird, squirrel and raccoon nests. If the chimney is blocked, the combustion gases are not going to leave the house. The flue needs to be open. Direct vents should be checked so that there are no bees or wasp nests.

– Clean leaves from eaves troughs and downspouts to ensure proper drainage from the roof.

– If you have a heat recovery ventilator, clean the intake grill outside and the filters inside the unit. Pour water down the condensation drain to test it.

– Ensure that the ground around your house slopes away from the foundation wall to prevent water from draining into your basement.

– Check exhaust ducts from dryers, bathroom fans and kitchen ranges that lead to the outside to make sure there are no obstructions. Check under the flaps to make sure nothing is nesting inside and clean it out.

– Vacuum electric baseboard heaters to remove dust and remove the grilles on forced air systems, and vacuum inside the ducts.

– Ensure all windows and doors shut tightly, including the door between the house and garage; if you have one. It may be time to do some weather stripping.

– Run the dehumidifier in the basement throughout the fall. It should be run from spring to fall. It helps to remove a lot of moisture.

– If you have interior screens on windows and doors, remove them and store the screens for winter. It promotes better air circulation to warm the glass and it may help to prevent condensation on windows.

For homes in rural areas - don't store firewood inside because it brings in a lot of moisture!
                                   - have your well water tested for quality
                                   - check the sump pump and line to ensure they work properly
                                   - if you have a septic tank, measure the sludge and scum to
                                     determine if it needs to be emptied before spring