IT'S time to pile on the blankets and crank up the thermostat.
As the temperature begins to dip, our home energy consumption tends to rise. We turn up the heat, plug in electric space heaters, take longer hot showers and leave lights on longer because it gets dark so early.
But there are ways to keep a lid on our home energy use in the colder months without sacrificing warmth and comfort. And no, it doesn't mean wearing your parka to bed. Nor does it necessarily involve a huge and expensive home renovation project.
There are actually quite a few low-cost ways to improve the energy efficiency of your house. And all these small improvements can add up to substantial savings.
Want some proof? A couple of years ago my husband and I surveyed our rambling, two-and-a-half storey old house with its many drafty windows and a completely uninsulated basement.
We didn't have the money or the time to embark on a big project like replacing all the windows and framing and insulating the basement. But we decided to take a few small steps.
We applied clear caulking along the edge of the trim on all the windows. We took off all the exterior wall baseboards and applied foam insulation and caulked the edges. We bought plastic window installation kits (around $10 to $15 each), which act as a temporary third window pane and seal out drafts.
It doesn't sound like much but a year later when we tallied our annual heating bill, we were surprised to find that we saved $300 over the previous year. That's a considerable amount for a weekend's work and less than $100 in materials.
Jeff Beckman, marketing specialist for Manitoba Hydro's residential program, says many homeowners, like myself, don't realize that minor improvements can lead to big savings.
In fact, he recommends that people worry about the small stuff first.
"Start with the little projects," he says. "There are many no-cost or low-cost ways to make your home more energy efficient. Then work up to the larger more expensive improvements."
After all, Beckman points out, there is no point in spending thousands of dollars on a new energy-efficient furnace if you haven't sealed the drafts around your doors and windows and all that heat is leaking outside.
Beckman says there are five levels when it comes to making you home more energy efficient. Homeowners should begin at the first level and move up in order. Here is his five-step plan for home energy conservation:
NO-COST AND LOW-COST PROJECTS
Check your furnace filter every month: a clogged, dirty filter causes the furnace to work harder, reduces air movement in the house and ultimately decreases furnace efficiency.
Turn your thermostat down 3 C (from your regular comfort set point) while you are at work and at night when sleeping. This will save three to four per cent off your annual energy bill. Buy a programmable thermostat (approximately $30 and up) so you don't have to remember to change the temperature.
But don't turn your thermostat down more than four or 5 C as it will take your furnace too long to heat up when you want some warmth and some of the savings will be lost.
Turn down the temperature on your water tank to somewhere between 54 C and 60 C. Many people have their hot-water tanks set too high. Turning your tank temperature down from 60 degrees C to 54 C can save $5 a year or more.
Insulate the cold- and hot- water pipes coming off the hot-water tank with pipe wrap: one metre of pipe insulation costs less than $1 and can save you about $5 a year on your heating bill.
Install a water saver (also called low-flow) shower head so less warm water is wasted. This saves 5.5 litres of hot water per minute and as much as 11,000 litres a year. Annually, water consumption can be reduced by one-third with a cost savings of approx. $30 a year.
Replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents, which use up to 75 per cent less energy, last up to 10 times longer than standard bulbs and provide the same amount of light. By replacing six incandescent lights with fluorescents you can save between $3 and $20 a year
Buy a timer that turns on you car's block heater two to four hours before you leave for work. It is a waste of energy to plug your car in all night long. Timers cost about $25 and will save you at least that amount over the winter.
REDUCE LEAKAGE AND DRAFTS
Thirty per cent of the outside air that enters a home comes through gaps around windows and doors so check the weather-stripping on the bottom and sides of exterior doors and replace if the material is worn or there are cracks. Caulk around windows (you can buy a clear caulking that is invisible) and baseboards, which may have small gaps that allow for drafts.
If your windows are old and drafty but you can't afford to replace them right now, an alternative is a plastic window installation kit (approx. $10 to $15). It can be easily peeled off in the spring.
Plug outlets and light switches on exterior walls can be drafty. Buy foam gaskets that fit behind the cover plate and act as insulation.
INSULATE UNINSULATED AREAS OF THE HOME
One of the biggest culprits of heat loss is found in the basement. If you have an unfinished basement, build a wood frame along the walls and insulate with R24 Batt insulation. In many homes, the basement recreation room is insulated but the area by the furnace or laundry room has bare concrete walls. It is important to insulate the entire basement.
INSULATE POORLY INSULATED AREAS OF YOUR HOME
If your house was built more than 25 years ago, it likely does not have enough attic insulation. Top it up by blowing in loose insulation. Hire a company to do the work for you or rent an insulation blowing machine from a lumber yard and do it yourself. The cost will depend on the size of the attic and how much insulation is required but expect to spend at least $1,000 if you hire a company and about one-third less if you do it yourself. Keep in mind that there are federal and provincial rebate programs that offer up to 100 per cent reimbursement on the purchase of insulation.
UPGRADE YOUR HEATING
If your furnace is more than 15 years old then it is likely reaching the end of its life expectancy and is not very efficient. Older standard-efficient furnaces are about 50 per cent efficient while today's Energy Star High Efficient natural gas furnace is 90 to 98 per cent efficient.
By replacing a standard with a high- efficient furnace you can knock 20 per cent or more off your annual energy bill. You can also take advantage of up to almost $800 in federal and provincial rebates on the purchase of an Energy Star furnace.
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