It Is Easy Being Green: 6 Tips to Help You Reduce Your Energy Consumption

This Friday is Earth Day. While you may be overwhelmed with messages about appreciating our planet and becoming more environmentally friendly this week, we want to make sure the notion of the importance eco-consciousness lasts beyond April 22nd. Consider the simple tips below to help reduce energy consumption at home. These ideas are easy to adopt, and can help you save money and the planet. Try implementing them today and develop a more eco-friendly lifestyle for Earth Day and years to come.

Turn Off & Unplug

Did you know that items like TVs and computers continue to draw power even after they’ve been turned off? To help limit energy consumption, ensure that in addition to turning them off when they aren’t in use, you unplug these types of products. Is it a little cumbersome? Sure. Is it worth it? Absolutely. Not only will it help to reduce your energy bill, it also reduces the amount of energy your household wastes.

Know When to Use Major Appliances

Most energy providers will apply a discount or credit when you use major appliances during off-peak hours. Doing your laundry or dishes outside of peak hours (peak hours are usually right before and after work during the week, but check with your provider for specific times) means that you aren’t contributing to the grid getting overcrowded, and you’re able to save a bit of money. Now that’s what we call a win, win.

Timers are Your Friend

If you haven’t put your indoor and outdoor lights on timers, what are you waiting for? We understand that exterior and hallway lights help deter burglars and pests, and can make you feel more comfortable at home. What’s not comfortable, however, is having these lights on all night long. Reduce energy consumption without compromising on safety by putting your lights on a timer. You can set when they turn on and off, creating additional security for when you aren’t home.

Full Is Better

Doing a half load of laundry or running the dishwasher when it isn’t full can increase how often you’re using these appliances. Efficiency is important for major appliances. Wait until these items are full before using them. Does that mean you might have to do a couple dishes by hand if you run out of forks before the dishwasher is full? Yes. Will you sometimes have to wait longer than you want to wear your favorite top? Sure. But that sacrifice is worth it.

Tip: Always make sure you’re washing your clothes with cold water. Washing machines consume so much energy because the water has to be heated up. Washing in cold water greatly helps to reduce your energy consumption – plus, most laundry detergents are formulated for cold water.

Blind Leading the Blind

Using your blinds to block out the sun on hot days can significantly cool down the temperature in your home. Give your air conditioner a bit of a rest during the summer by strategically closing the blinds when the sun is shining. Similarly, help your furnace out by opening the blinds on sunny days in the winter.

Green Products

Eco-friendly products like light bulbs, windows, doors, and appliances, can all contribute to reducing your energy consumption and bills. So the next time you need to get a new light bulb, grab the energy efficient ones. They may be a little more expensive, but you’ll see a return on that investment. This is true of windows, doors, and major appliances as well, however these items need to be replaced less frequently. When it comes time to upgrade them, consider the environmentally friendly option (although it may be more expensive than the regular model).

We hope these tips help you and your family to live a little greener this Earth Day and all year long. Have some eco-friendly ideas you want to share with us? Tweet or Instagram your best advice to @HomeShows or share it with Home + Garden Events on Facebook. We love hearing from you!

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Top 5 Tips for Building Consciously from Casey Grey, “The Conscious Builder”

Homeowners generally think of living “consciously” in terms of reducing their energy use with LED bulbs, or getting their family in the habit of recycling and composting. However, there are many more ways you can make environmentally conscious decisions in your home, especially if you’re starting a remodel.

Casey Grey is the owner of Cornelis Grey Construction: The Conscious Builder, which focuses on building homes “consciously,” and to a higher standard, using environmentally friendly and health conscious products. Casey shares his top 5 tips for building consciously in your next remodel.

Buy Quality Windows

The fact is, windows are the weakest point of your home. They have little thermal resistance and are often positioned in places that affect the performance and comfort of your home. When purchasing windows, be very wary of what manufacturers tell you. I’m not saying that they are lying to you but they may not be telling you the complete truth. For example, window performance is based on the complete window assembly. This means that the glass, spacers and frames all need to work together. Great glass and spacers with a poor window frames only addresses part of the issue. No matter what, I would always suggest triple glazed windows at the very minimum. Make sure to do your research or find a contractor who can help you with these decisions.

Insulation From The Exterior

If you have the opportunity to add insulation to the exterior of your home, DO IT! This will eliminate Thermal Bridges which will make your home much more comfortable and will help it perform much better. Understanding the difference between Effective R-Value and Nominal R-Value will help you with this concept. For example, a 2”x6” wood framed wall with studs every 16” and an R-22 batt will give you an effective R-Value of R-17. That same wall with an addition R-10 (2” of foam) on the exterior will give you an effective R-Value of R-27! Here it is in point form:

Wall 1 (Typical 2" x 6" wall)

• Nominal R-Value = R-22
• Effective R-Value = R-17

Wall 2 (Additional 2" of foam on the exterior)

• Nominal R-Value = R-32
• Effective R-Value = R27

Eliminate As Many Holes As Possible

The tighter your home is, the better it will perform and the more comfortable it will be. If anybody tells you your home needs to breathe, chances are they don’t understand the basics of building science. Yes, your assembly may need to have the ability to dry out or have vapour travel through it BUT you do not want air to travel through your wall. When air leaks into your home, not only does it make it less comfortable and less energy efficient, it also opens up the potential for major structural damage and adds to poor indoor air quality.

Think of this for a second. When you turn on your bathroom fan or your huge kitchen exhaust fan, where do you think the air is coming from? Air is being blown out of the house so it needs to be coming in somewhere, right? Well that air is going to come in wherever it can which usually ends up being through plugs, switches and other exhaust openings, such as those that are required for gas appliances. This means you have all the chemicals from your walls and potentially Carbon Monoxide coming into your home. The solution is to eliminate as many holes as possible and mechanically ventilate your home with an HRV or ERV. Any contractor or HVAC contractor who understands building science should be able to help you with this.

Think of Where Your Products And Materials Come From

When building consciously, we also want to think of where all the products and materials we purchase come from. Ultimately we want to purchase quality products but we also want to make sure we’re lowering the carbon footprint of our build. For example, if you’re thinking of a stone counter top, where is that stone coming from? Is it being cut out of the ground on the other side of the world, being packaged and shipped here and then cut and polished just for your kitchen? We live at a time when we have more options than we know of. You can get counters made from paper or recycled content now! They may even be made closer to your home than you think. You can do an easy online search or ask your contractor or designer for some other options.

Think of The Air You Breathe

You may have heard of off-gassing or VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) before. If you haven’t, I suggest you take a look. Unfortunately most homes have terrible indoor air quality and one of the reasons is because of off-gassing. There are many products out there that have many different chemicals in them and they often continue to off-gas for years to come. The most common ones you hear of are paints, stains, laminates and spray foam insulation. Be wary of other types of insulation and even your furniture as well. For example, fibreglass insulation and certain fabrics are sprayed with fire retardants that are full of hormone disrupting chemicals. Make sure to talk to your contractor about the materials that are being used in your home. Healthier materials may cost more but the health of you and your family is invaluable.

Casey Grey will be sharing his tips and advice at the Ottawa Home & Remodelling Show, taking place January 21-24, 2016 at the EY Centre. Don’t miss his presentation “Conscious Strategies For Remodelling Your Home” at the show, Thursday, January 21, 6-7 PM and Saturday, January 23, 10:30-11:30 AM. Casey Grey will also be available at the Cornelius Grey Construction booth at the show to answer all of your questions. 

Don't have tickets yet? Get 2-for-1 when you connect with us on Facebook. Treat a friend or family member to the show - we'd love to see you there!

EY CENTRE
JANUARY 21-24, 2016.

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