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!