Everyone wants to save money on their home energy bills. Better yet, wouldn’t it be even better to save money and reduce your impact on the environment?
Younger generations are placing a bigger and bigger emphasis on environmental concerns than older generations, which is great. We have limited resources on this planet and need to make sure we take care of our planet and leave resources and a healthy planet for generations to come.
When it comes to our home, there are lots of little things we can do that can add up to big savings to your checkbook as well as minimizing the impact on our environment.
Below are some tips for saving money and the planet when it comes to your home.
Use Clean Energy For Your Fireplace
Instead of using wood or coal fireplaces, which produce carbon monoxide and other toxins into the atmosphere, consider using cleaner energy sources like natural gas or better yet, go electric. Electric fireplaces have come a long way in terms of looks and energy efficiency. My friend Jeanne over at Stylish Fireplaces in Toronto (now in Vaughan) says that younger people are moving more and more towards electric fireplaces due to their versatility and energy efficiency.
Use Solar Energy
Solar energy roof panels is still an emerging market but many homeowners are making the switch thanks to federal and state-level subsidies available. While the upfront costs can be high (20K+), subsidies can offset that costs and often within 10 years your investment will start producing a positive ROI for you as well as a greatly reduced impact on the environment.
Energy Efficient HVAC System
If you have an old HVAC system or one that runs poorly, maybe by poor installation or m=workmanship, then you have a chance to save a bundle with a new HVAC system. If your system is under 10 years old, a good cleaning and regular maintenance plan may be all that’s needed. If you have an older system, replacing all or parts of the system may be in order. We had old fiber based ductwork in our house which was falling apart and leaking all over the place and saw an immediate 20% savings on our energy bill, which works out to over $600 a year on our bill.
Tankless Water Heater
A hot water tank can use up to 20% of your monthly energy bill, continually heating water that is just sitting in your tank, even if you are gone all day at work or on vacation. A tankless water heater produces hot water on demand and only heats it when you want to use it. A tankless water heater can add up to big savings for you over the course of the year.
The only thing I will add is that if you have a large family and people tend to take showers simultaniously, a tankless hot water heater may stuggle a bit trying to supply enough hot water to every shower head.
Insulate your attic
Do you have your attic insulated or is it old and not efficient anymore? In the summer, attic insulation will help keep the heat shining on your roof from getting into your home and causing your HVAC system to work overtime. In the winter, it will help you keep warm air in the attic and stop it from escaping from the house. A bonus would be to get an attic fan, which will help get heat out of your home during the summer months.
When we renovated our home a few years ago, we converted our attic into a family room for our growing family. The home renovation company in Toronto we hired needed to retrofit the attic with proper wallboard, HVAC system, and air circulation to make sure the room did not get too hot in the summer and cool air could reach the third floor when needed.
So here are just a few tips to save money on your energy bill at home. Have any tips of your own? Let us know in the comments below!
