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Archive for the 'Green Building' Category

10 Easy Ways to Save Energy in Your Home

August 10th, 2010 Categories: Area interest, Green Building

Most people don’t know how easy it is to make their homes run on less energy, and here at InterNACHI, we want to change that. Drastic reductions in heating, cooling and electricity costs can be accomplished through very simple changes, most of which homeowners can do themselves. Of course, for homeowners who want their homes to take advantage of the most up-to-date knowledge and systems in home energy-efficiency, InterNACHI energy auditors can perform in-depth testing to find the best energy solutions for your particular home. 

Why make your home more energy efficient? Here are a few good reasons:

• It saves money. It costs less to power a home that has been converted to be more energy-efficient.
• It increases indoor comfort levels.
• It reduces our impact on climate change. Many scientists now believe that excessive energy consumption contributes significantly to global warming.
• It reduces pollution. Conventional power production introduces pollutants that find their way into the air, soil and water supplies.

1. Find better ways to heat and cool your house. 

As much as half of the energy used in homes goes toward heating and cooling. The following are a few ways that energy bills can be reduced through adjustments to the heating and cooling systems:

• Install a ceiling fan. Ceiling fans can be used in place of air conditioners, which require a large amount of energy.
• Periodically replace air filters in air conditioners and heaters.
• Set thermostats to an appropriate temperature. Specifically, they should be turned down at night and when no one is home. In most homes, about 2% of the heating bill will be saved for each degree that the thermostat is lowered for at least eight hours each day. Turning down the thermostat from 75° F to 70°F, for example, saves about 10% on heating costs.
• Install a programmable thermostat. A programmable thermostat saves money by allowing heating and cooling appliances to be automatically turned down during times that no one is home and at night. Programmable thermostats contain no mercury and, in some climate zones, can save up to $150 per year in energy costs.
• Install a wood stove or a pellet stove. These are more efficient sources of heat than furnaces.
• At night, curtains drawn over windows will better insulate the room.

2. Install a tankless water heater.

Demand water heaters (tankless or instantaneous) provide hot water only as it is needed. They don’t produce the standby energy losses associated with storage water heaters, which will save on energy costs. Demand water heaters heat water directly without the use of a storage tank. Therefore, they avoid the standby heat losses required by traditional storage water heaters. When a hot water tap is turned on, cold water travels through a pipe into the unit. Either a gas burner or an electric element heats the water. As a result, demand water heaters deliver a constant supply of hot water. You don’t need to wait for a storage tank to fill up with enough hot water.

3. Replace incandescent lights.

The average household dedicates 11% of its energy budget to lighting. Traditional incandescent lights convert approximately only 10% of the energy they consume into light, while the rest becomes heat. The use of new lighting technologies, such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and compact fluorescent lamps (CFL), can reduce energy use required by lighting by 50% to 75%. Advances in lighting controls offer further energy savings by reducing the amount of time lights are on but not being used. Here are some facts about CFLs and LEDs:

• CFLs use 75% less energy and last about 10 times longer than traditional incandescent bulbs.
• LEDs last even longer than CFLs and consume less energy.
• LEDs have no moving parts and, unlike CFLs, they contain no mercury.

4. Seal and insulate your home.

Sealing and insulating your home is one of the most cost-effective ways to make a home more comfortable and energy efficient -– and you can do it yourself. A tightly sealed home can improve comfort and indoor air quality while reducing utility bills. An InterNACHI energy auditor can be hired to assess envelope leakage and recommend fixes that will dramatically increase comfort and energy savings.

The following are some common places where leakage may occur:

• electrical outlets;
• mail slots;
• around pipes and wires;
• wall- or window-mounted air conditioners;
• attic hatches;
• fireplace dampers;
• weatherstripping around doors;
• baseboards;
• window frames; and
• switch plates.

Because hot air rises, air leaks are most likely to occur in the attic. Homeowners can perform a variety of repairs and maintenance to their attics that save them money on cooling and heating, such as: 

• Plug the large holes. Locations in the attic where leakage is most likely to be the greatest are where walls meet the attic floor, behind and under attic knee walls, and in dropped-ceiling areas.
• Seal the small holes. You can easily do this by looking for areas where the insulation is darkened. Darkened insulation is a result of dusty interior air being filtered by insulation before leaking through small holes in the building envelope. In cold weather, you may see frosty areas in the insulation caused by warm, moist air condensing and then freezing as it hits the cold attic air. In warmer weather, you’ll find water staining in these same areas. Use expanding foam or caulk to seal the openings around plumbing vent pipes and electrical wires. Cover the areas with insulation after the caulk is dry.
• Seal up the attic access panel with weatherstripping. You can cut a piece of fiberglass or rigid foam board insulation the same size as the attic hatch and glue it to the back of the attic access panel. If you have pull-down attic stairs or an attic door, these should be sealed in a similar manner.

5. Install efficient shower heads and toilets.

The following systems can be installed to conserve water usage in homes:

• low-flow shower heads. They are available in different flow rates, and some have a pause button which shuts off the water while the bather lathers up;
• low-flow toilets. Toilets consume 30% to 40% of the total water used in homes, making them the biggest water users. Replacing an older 3.5-gallon toilet with a modern, low-flow 1.6-gallon toilet can reduce usage an average of two gallons-per-flush (GPF), saving 12,000 gallons of water per year. Low-flow toilets usually have “1.6 GPF” marked on the bowl behind the seat or inside the tank;
• vacuum-assist toilets. These types of toilets have a vacuum chamber which uses a siphon action to suck air from the trap beneath the bowl, allowing it to quickly fill with water to clear waste. Vacuum toilets are relatively quiet; and
• dual-flush toilets. Dual-flush toilets have been used in Europe and Australia for years, and are now gaining in popularity in Canada and the U.S. Dual-flush toilets let you choose between a 1-gallon (or less) flush for liquid waste, and a 1.6-gallon flush for solid waste. Dual-flush 1.6-GPF toilets reduce water consumption by an additional 30%.

6. Use appliances and electronics responsibly.

Appliances and electronics account for about 20% of household energy bills in a typical U.S. home. The following are tips that will reduce the required energy of electronics and appliances:

• Refrigerators and freezers should not be located near the stove, dishwasher or heat vents, or exposed to direct sunlight. Exposure to warm areas will force them to use more energy to remain cool.  
• Computers should be shut off when not in use. If unattended computers must be left on, their monitors should be shut off. According to some studies, computers account for approximately 3% of all energy consumption in the United States.
• Use efficient “Energy Star”-rated appliances and electronics. These devices, approved by the DOE and the EPA’s Energy Star Program, include TVs, home theater systems, DVD players, CD players, receivers, speakers and more. According to the EPA, if just 10% of homes used energy-efficient appliances, it would reduce carbon emissions by the equivalent of 1.7 million acres of trees.
• Chargers, such as those for laptops and cell phones, consume energy when they are plugged in. When they are not connected to electronics, chargers should be unplugged.
• Laptop computers consume considerably less electricity than desktop computers.

7. Install daylighting as an alternative to electrical lighting.

Daylighting is the practice of using natural light to illuminate the home’s interior. It can be achieved using the following approaches:

• skylights. It’s important that they be double-pane or they may not be cost-effective. Flashing skylights correctly is key to avoiding leaks;
• lightshelves. Light shelves are passive devices designed to bounce light deep into a building. They may be interior or exterior. Light shelves can introduce light into a space up to 2½ times the distance from the floor to the top of the window, and advanced light shelves may introduce four times that amount;
• clerestory windows.  Clerestory windows are short, wide windows set high on the wall. Protected from the summer sun by the roof overhang, they allow winter sun to shine through for natural lighting and warmth; and 
• light tubes.  Light tubes use a special lens designed to amplify low-level light and reduce light intensity from the midday sun. Sunlight is channeled through a tube coated with a highly reflective material, then enters the living space through a diffuser designed to distribute light evenly.

8. Insulate windows and doors.

About one-third of the home’s total heat loss usually occurs through windows and doors. The following are ways to reduce energy lost through windows and doors:

• Seal all window edges and cracks with rope caulk. This is the cheapest and simplest option.
• Windows can be weatherstripped with a special lining that is inserted between the window and the frame. For doors, weatherstrip around the whole perimeter to ensure a tight seal when closed. Install quality door sweeps on the bottom of the doors, if they aren’t already in place.
• Install storm windows at windows with only single panes. A removable glass frame can be installed over an existing window.
• If existing windows have rotted or damaged wood, cracked glass, missing putty, poorly fitting sashes, or locks that don’t work, they should be repaired or replaced.

9. Cook smart.

An enormous amount of energy is wasted while cooking. The following recommendations and statistics illustrate less wasteful ways of cooking:

• Convection ovens are more efficient that conventional ovens. They use fans to force hot air to circulate more evenly, thereby allowing food to be cooked at a lower temperature. Convection ovens use approximately 20% less electricity than conventional ovens.
• Microwave ovens consume approximately 80% less energy than conventional ovens.
• Pans should be placed on the correctly-sized heating element or flame. 
• Lids make food heat more quickly than pans that do not have lids.
• Pressure cookers reduce cooking time dramatically.
• When using conventional ovens, food should be placed on the top rack. The top rack is hotter and will cook food faster. 

10. Change the way you wash your clothes.

• Do not use the “half load” setting on your washer. Wait until you have a full load of clothes, as the “half load” setting saves less than half of the water and energy.
• Avoid using high-temperature settings when clothes are not that dirty. Water that is 140 degrees uses far more energy than 103 degrees for a “warm” setting, but 140 degrees isn’t that much better for washing purposes.
• Clean the lint trap before you use the dryer, every time. Not only is excess lint a fire hazard, but it will prolong the amount of time required for your clothes to dry.
• If possible, air-dry your clothes on lines and racks.
• Spin-dry or wring clothes out before putting them into a dryer. 

Homeowners who take the initiative to make these changes usually discover that the energy savings are more than worth the effort. However, you should consider that inspectors can make this process much easier and perform a more comprehensive assessment of energy saving potential than you can. For a qualified inspector, visit www.InspectorSeek.com. Ask the inspector if they are trained in performing energy inspections.

By Nick Gromicko, Ben Gromicko, Rob London and Kenton Shepard

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Get Your Share of the Government Pie

June 16th, 2009 Categories: Ajax, Area interest, Green Building, Pickering, Pickering Village, Real Estate

I recently had a home energy audit to see what grant money I had available from the incentive programs that the government has available.  Actually, over 21,000 Canadians have taken advantage of this program.

I can get $2,645 from the government if I complete all the suggested improvements.

Now, some of the suggestions, like $760 grant to replace $11,000 worth of windows, doesn’t seem worth the effort.  But $50 on silicone sealant and some electrical socket insulation covers can get me $190, if I improve the air tightness of my home by 10%.

I replaced my old 50 gallon hot water tank with a tank-less one and I am getting $315 back from the government.  I’m not sure I will realize any savings in my bills because the kids take longer showers—they don’t run out of hot water.

These incentives and more are available to you.  Natural Resources Canada ecoEnergy Retrofit—Homes grant can help you make often necessary home improvements.

The government also has tax credits available for other home renovations.  It is worth checking out national, provincial, regional and municipal programs that can take some of the sting out of home repairs.

 

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Ontario’s Plan for Mandatory Energy Audits

April 1st, 2009 Categories: Green Building, Real Estate News, Selling real estate

It is kind the case of one hand giving and the other hand taking away. The federal budget this year gave a tax break to home buyers by giving them a tax credit for some of the closing costs when buying a home.  And the provincial government is considering implementing a mandatory home energy audit for sellers before they can complete the sale of their home.

The Ontario Real Estate Association says this:

“This mandatory government regulation will impose a significant cost on home sellers. As with most Canadians, we don’t believe in green at any cost,” said Gerry Weir, President of the Ontario Real Estate Association. “It’s not the initial cost of these audits that concerns us,” he said. “Rather, the results of these audits will be used by home buyers as bargaining chips to significantly reduce the final selling price.

“Today’s economic downturn is a terrible time to introduce this measure. Home sellers are already worried about lost equity in their homes. A move like this, which will reduce their value even further, will not help them in any way,” Mr. Weir said.

REALTORS® favour government encouragement of energy efficiency in homes through expanded tax breaks and other measures.

In addition, REALTORS® point out that there is no one standard for energy audits. Different firms arrive at different assessments of the same house. “EnerGuide ratings of an existing home can and do vary between energy auditors, depending on the assumptions they make and the extent of data they collect on the building’s actual construction,” Mr. Weir said.

Not everyone is opposed to this government intrusion into the marketplace.  Elden Freeman, founder of the National Association of Green Agents and Brokers says, “considered over the long term of owning a house, the opportunities for improvements that audits can reveal ultimately pay for themselves several times over.  Take into account that both the audits can reveal ultimately pay for themselves several times over.  Take into account that both the audits and the improvements are both government-subsidized and it becomes clear that home audits are an opportunity for savings and asset enhancement.”

The jury is still out on this new initiative.  Not sure it is a good idea, let your MPP know.  It is undergoing public consultations now before it is put to a final vote.

 

 

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Time to Go Tankless?

December 22nd, 2008 Categories: Green Building

Although the government seems to be able to find lots of money to fund different interest groups, I, at home, am looking for ways to keep my bills under control and have a few pennies left over.

 Maybe, going tankless is an answer.  Is there a way you could be saving money on your hot water heating?

Your water heater accounts for about 25% of all the energy that you use in your home.  Most homeowners have a tank-storage-style water heater.  A tankless heating system can save 20 - 30% of the energy that is used to heat water.

Tankless water heaters use a lot less space and get bolted on the wall in the place of a tank-storage water heater.  The unit heats the whole water system for the house.  It is the unique way that water is heated that allows it to save money.

Water is heated only on a as-needed basis.  Your tank-storage water heater heats the water and then re-heats and re-heats it until it is used.

Tankless water heaters heat the water on demand using a heating element.  The heat can be from electricity or gas.  Typically, the gas units have more heating capacity and are better for whole house use.

The tankless system is more energy efficient and, over the long run, can save you money on your energy bill.  The upfront cost could be double or triple the storage tank system.

There are different sizes available depending on the amount of water the unit will need to heat, the temperature of the water coming into the unit, and the temeperature of the water you want to have leaving the unit.

Going tankless can save you hundreds of dollars per year and keep money in your pocket.  If you are interested in having an estimate for installation, call me for a recommendation to a great plumber.

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New Homes: Top 10 Energy-Efficient Remodeling Projects for 2008

April 30th, 2008 Categories: Area interest, Green Building, Real Estate

by Dena Kouremetis

PATH (The Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing) recently released its annual recommendations on the top remodeling technologies to make existing homes more durable, stronger and more resource efficient.

The top 10 technologies include:

1. Air Sealing: which include non-fiberglass batts, sprayed foam insulation, and sprayed fiber insulation are recommended because they improve the thermal resistance of exterior walls.

2. Smartvent Ventilation: This new mechanical ventilator system measures the moisture content of outdoor and crawlspace air and only provides ventilation when the outdoor air is drier than crawlspace air.

3. HVAC Sizing (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning): estimating heating and air conditioning loads more accurately so properly sized HVAC systems are installed to ensure energy efficiency.

4. High Efficiency Toilets: Designed for water conservation, high efficiency toilets have been defined by the plumbing industry and the EPA as those that use an average of 20% less water per flush than the industry standard of 1.6 gallons. A high efficiency unit toilet can save up to 8,760 gallons of water each year for a family of four.

5. Compact Fluorescent Lighting: Compact fluorescent lamps (CFL), are simply miniature versions of full-size fluorescent lights, but four times more efficient and last up to 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs.

6. High Performance Windows: Window technology has evolved over the years to the point where windows can be selected not only for their aesthetic qualities, but also for their performance abilities.

7. Wireless Lighting and Thermostats: These controls can be set on timers or using a variety of sensors with wireless systems to increase home efficiency without sacrificing home owner comfort.

8. Solar Hot Water: Solar water heaters come in a variety of configurations but each differs in design, cost, performance and level of complexity. Most systems have back-up water heating such as electricity or gas.

9. Recycled/Renewable Flooring: The two types of environmentally-conscious flooring that lead the market are recycled flooring from old structures and renewable flooring from fast-growing trees, such as bamboo.

10. Tubular Skylights: Tubular skylights use the sun for lighting interiors without the drawbacks associated with conventional skylights. They are generally easier to install than typical skylights and, from the home’s interior, resemble conventional lighting fixtures.

For more information, visit the PATH website at pathnet.org.

Published in Realty Times

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