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!

Most homeowners know that the act of buying a property hardly comes without a certain amount of compromise. For some, instead of having sprawling grounds, it is better to make peace with a seemingly cozy yard.

You can transform your postage stamp yard to an amazing hideaway with just a little planning and forethought. You can create a space a highly functional and aesthetically pleasing small backyard if you can put certain simple ideas together. Here are some small background ideas that can help you transform that ordinary space behind your house to a perfect backyard for your family.

Render Your Space Function

One effective way to make your space look more cohesive is by defining its function. You can begin by thinking of various ways through which you can ideally choose to use your exterior. This may include installing a large dining table for some kind of al fresco summer feasting or a turning it into a perfect relaxation spot with plush seating area. You can either decide to break up your yard into a few distinct areas or stick with one feature depending on the availability of space.

Build a Tree House

This is almost a must have for every home with a backyard and kids. In fact, the tree house is the No. 1 DIY project for the backyard. This is a place where kids will love to set up meetings, play together and have fun all through the day. If you do not have any in your backyard, it is important you start constructing one with your kid but if you already have one, ensure to render a quick makeover.

A Nice Pool

No doubt, swimming pools has a calming effect. They tend to give a backyard that cooling effect. Building a swimming pool or even a Jacuzzi in your backyard would definitely go a long way in transforming your space into a soothing oasis. This special edge can even be obtained from a simple bird bath.

Plant a Vegetable Garden

Your yard can be brought to life if you plant flowers and shrubs in it. Even if they may only live for a few months, change the look of your backyard and make it come alive by strategically placing flower beds, shrubs and herb gardens. This will make your space lively and perfect for family parties and pensive personal moments.

Put in a Hot Tub

Whether in the middle of a regular-length day or at the end of a long day, nothing is more relaxing than soaking in a hot tub. However, ensure to apply extreme caution around the water, so as to keep things family-friendly.  If you want to use your hot tub for health and exercise, then consider getting a swim spa for your home.

Construct an Outdoor Fire Place

An outdoor fireplace comes in very handy during the chilling times of the winter season where you and your family members can cuddle up together to share warmth. It is also a great spot for barbecue parties and to enjoy your backyard in the cooler months of the year.

When it comes to helping the planet, every little helps and whilst attitudes have changed in recent years with the use of household recycling bins and the rise of the reusable bag, there is still much work to do in order to achieve a ‘waste less’ society. Here we reveal the five steps every household can take to cut waste…

 1. Love food, hate waste

Food waste puts a huge burden on our landfill sites, and a recent survey showed that over a quarter of waste thrown away by UK households is food. With rising food costs, you’d think that everyone would take on a ‘waste not, want not’ approach, however as a nation we are still buying and throwing away too much food.

Being savvier when it comes to food shopping is the best step to reducing food waste and the amount that you spend at the checkout. Take a look in your cupboards before you leave to see what you need and write a list concentrating on creating meals for the week ahead.

2. A bag is for life…

Talks are still underway regarding enforcing a charge for the plastic bags found in the supermarket, and whilst the reusable ‘bag for life’ has risen in popularity, many people still rely on using plastic bags. We understand that it’s not always easy to remember your bag for life every time you hit the shops but by carrying one in your car, you will always have a bag for life to hand. Cloth bags also work too!

3. Recycle or reuse

As well as household waste, many individuals throw their household furniture and fixtures in the trash too. Instead of visiting your local tip, aim to recycle or reuse these items. There are many ways in which you can recycle household goods, kerbside recycling schemes pick up unwanted items or you could give something back by donating to charity.

4. Profit from your recycling prowess

There’s even an opportunity to earn a quick buck from unwanted household goods, salvage yards pay good money for good quality items. These items will then be sold on to their customers, who are certain to repurpose and breathe new life into products that you find tired or unusable in your own home.

5. Say ‘no’ to junk mail

Whilst many of us have become pros at recycling paper goods, there is still 550,000 tonnes of paper used to create unsolicited mail in the UK alone. If we all work together to say ‘no’ to junk mail, we could save over 9 million trees and 16.5 billion litres of water! Use a ‘No Junk Mail’ sticker to tell your postman and other visitors that your home is no place for junk mail.

This post was written by the UK’s leading salvage and reclamation specialist Cheshire Demolition. Their Macclesfield-based yard is the perfect place to buy and sell unwanted household items.

There are many ways in which we are harming the environment and waste resources on daily basis, but few of us consider car maintenance (and the associated costs) to be one of them.  For instance, car washing has a huge impact on the environment, since it wastes huge amounts of water, and the wash water that is created in the process, containing petroleum, dirt, oil, cleaning agents, goes into storm drains, which then carry it to the nearest water bodies. That’s why people should be very careful when they wash their cars in their yards, and do whatever they can to avoid polluting nearby bodies of water and wasting large amounts of water while doing it.

When washing your car at home and in your garage, you probably don’t think too much about where the wash water goes, or how much water is wasted. The waste water contains various potential pollutants, such as rubber, mud, detergents, grease, and it usually enters storm drain systems, that transport it to lakes, rivers, or oceans. Alternatively, it can also go directly into the ground, which also pollutes the environment. As far as the amount of water that is wasted, various studies suggest that on average, people waste 10 gallons of water per minute when washing their cars in their yards.

If you want to save some water while washing your car, you should try and follow a few simple tips.

For starters, you can put a quick-action shut-off nozzle on your hose, or a trigger hose, to prevent wasting water when the faucet is on, but you don’t need to use the hose. Also, you can save a lot of water if you use a bucket.

When it comes to the wash water and what to do with it, it’s important to know how to dispose of it properly. A lot of things depend on the area you wash your car on. If you wash it on your driveway, the waste water will probably run into a roadside drainage ditch, a gutter or a curb inlet, which means it will end up in a nearby lake or river. That’s why it’s better to do it on your lawn. This way, the wash water will run off directly into the ground, and you prevent it from flowing into the street and entering the drains. However, you need to be very careful when washing your car on your lawn or garden area, and prevent the waste water from running off into an area that’s close to your vegetables or fruit trees.

The best way to save water and prevent wastewater from entering your storm drains is to take your car to a commercial car washing facility, where water is treated before it is disposed. They clean the water, removing all pollutants that may harm the environment, and then discharge it in the sewer. They also recycle it and reuse it several times before disposal. Additionally, they waste much less water, as they use more sophisticated, automated equipment, which is far more efficient than using hoses and buckets.