What is an energy-efficient home?
Any home can be more energy-efficient
Any home, no matter when it was built, can be energy-efficient. Modern construction standards demand greater energy efficiency in new homes, but older homes can be upgraded to improve their energy performance. And the people living in these homes can be energy-efficient in their habits, too.
An energy-efficient home is…
Cost-effective
It’s got a great EnerGuide rating. That means it’s well insulated and airtight, with high-efficiency heating and cooling equipment that helps keep utility bills low. It’s outfitted with low-flow accessories to lower water consumption and water-heating costs. The people living in this home keep inside temperatures reasonable, use electricity wisely and buy ENERGY STAR® certified products and appliances.
Comfortable and healthy
It’s warm in winter, cool in summer and free of drafts. The home has great ventilation and excellent air quality; it’s never too humid or dry. The people living there use a programmable thermostat to manage heating and cooling at night and when they’re away.
Always adding value
This home’s fixtures and upgrades show a commitment to energy efficiency that adds resale value. Newer windows and doors, and high-efficiency lighting and appliances not only save money and energy, they also look great to buyers. And investments in renewable energy like solar panels can pay off for years to come.
Kind to the environment
All the efficient features and elements work together to lower energy consumption, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and shrink the home’s carbon footprint.
How much can you save with LED lighting?
LED lighting offers clear advantages over conventional incandescent, metal halide, and High Pressure Sodium or HPS bulbs. They’re more efficient, last longer, and generate much less heat. How does this translate into saving you money?
According to Natural Resources Canada, LED bulbs use about 70% less energy than conventional bulbs. The exceptionally long lifespan of LED bulbs — at least 25 times as long as incandescent bulbs — makes your savings even greater. Thus, even if they may cost a little more to purchase, that cost is more than offset by their longer lifespan.
These savings multiply rapidly in a large commercial or industrial setting that uses hundreds or even thousands of bulbs. In these environments, lights are often left on for most of the day, even around the clock, so the potential for saving on electricity charges is obvious. And since they generate much less heat than the alternatives, customers also save on air conditioning costs.
The longer lifespan of LED bulbs leads to additional savings for larger customers in terms of a marked decrease in maintenance expenses. Rather than having facilities staff spending much of their time climbing up and down ladders to change burned out bulbs, they can focus on other tasks.
Even residential consumers can save by switching to LED bulbs. The average Canadian household spends about 11% of its electricity on lighting. Switching to LED bulbs can reduce the lighting portion of your electricity bill to about 3%. The difference can be $100 to $150 a year for a typical household.
How much you’ll save by switching to LED lighting will depend on your circumstances; the number and type of bulbs you have, the number of hours a day you need them, and how much you currently spend on maintenance.
Which Green Tech Will Save Money in Your Building?
Whether you are a landlord or a homeowner, it is important to understand how your building loses money by wasting energy. As recurring expenses, energy bills can add up heavily especially in a big building like an office block or warehouse. It means less rental income for you as a landlord. Homeowners can realize savings as well by plugging energy waste. There are several ways in which buildings waste energy which can also be looked at as loss of money:
Air leakage
Heating costs take up the biggest percentage of the energy bill. A building with leakage allows heated air to escape and cold air to get in, which necessitates constant heating hence higher energy bills.
Leakages will be found in gaps around the edges of doors and windows. This is especially in older buildings where strict building codes and precision measurement of building materials was absent. Gaps in the ceiling fixtures also allow infiltration of cold air which can have a “stacking effect.” This is where colder air which is denser pushes warmer air down and out of the building through gaps and cracks in the foundation.
Lighting energy wastage
Lighting wastage occurs in three ways. The first is the usage of lighting bulbs that waste energy. These are the older bulbs that relied on heating filaments to produce light. Lighting energy can also be wasted by using bulbs of the wrong wattage rating, where there is more light than needed. Energy is also wasted when lighting is left on unnecessary, for example, security lights during the day.
Appliance energy wastage
Devices that rely on electricity in a home or office will waste energy when they are left powered up when not in use. They will also draw a residual charge when they are in standby mode.
How to fix energy wastage
Proper insulation – Insulation plugs the gaps that allow air leakage. Proper attic, wall and basement insulation can significantly reduce heating costs.
High-tech thermostats – Programmable thermostats ensure that heating is done only when necessary. Modern systems will have sensors to heat rooms only when there are people in them.
Better lighting bulbs – Sodium bulbs are being phased away in favor of the more energy efficient LED bulbs that are dimmable.
Automated lighting – Automation lighting systems are programmable to light areas at specific times or when they sense a presence.
Energy rated appliances – Energy rating shows how efficiently a device uses energy. Many appliances use the ENERGY STAR rating. Pick only appliances that have been rated favorably.
Intelligent power adapters – These adapters control appliance energy use and switch off when they sense a standby mode or powering off.
Remember that making a home green involves more than conserving energy. Save much more by also conserving water and implementing the 3R’s; reduce, reuse, recycle.