Energy Information

General Tips

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1. Seal your home by caulking around all baseboards, windows, doors, electrical and cable outlets. Use silicone caulking for areas with high moisture.
   
   
2. Keep furnace filters clean and have your furnace inspected regularly to ensure it operates efficiently. If considering a new furnace, ask your GreenSaver advisor about the differences the insulation and sealing in your home will have on your choice of newer, more energy efficient models. You may be able to reduce the size of your furnace with improvements to other areas of your home. There may also need to be changes made to your chimney to implement the new furnace. If you do change furnaces, remember to properly fill in the former ventilation holes and seal around the new ones.
   
   
3. If you are replacing appliances, look for a good Energuide rating or the Energy Star logo. You'll save energy and, because the appliances operate more efficiently, they reduce the amount of energy used in your house.
   
   
4. Look for holes or cracks around your porch and patio. These can be filled using expandable foam from your local hardware store. This will not only prevent cold air from entering your house, but will leave warmer air circulating around the living area of a room.
   
   
5. With your computer system, use a power bar to reduce "phantom" current from constantly being generated even when your system is off to save on your energy bill. Also, use the low power mode of your monitor by activating it manually through your computer operating system.
   
   
6. Use the "energy saver" switch on your dishwasher or refrigerator. For your fridge, adjust the setting to achieve maximum energy savings without causing condensation on the outside of the unit.
   
   
7. Ensure your roof is properly ventilated. You want the warm moist air from your home to escape through air vents and not leak and get trapped into the attic space. Mould may develop.
   
   
8. If you have a fireplace, keep the damper closed when it is not in use. If you never use it, plug and seal the chimney flue to prevent air escaping or entering your home.
   
   
9. Clean the filter at the bottom of your dishwasher. Vacuum the dust from vents, baseboard heaters and cold-air returns to ensure air circulates efficiently throughout your house. Do the same for refrigerators and freezers to help them operate efficiently too.
   
   
10. Take a quick shower. It's cheaper than a bath.
    
    
11. Use cold water to wash and rinse laundry whenever possible.
    
    
12. Wait until you have a full load before doing the laundry, or using the dishwasher. And, run them later in the evening to save on your energy rate.
    
    
13. Install a flow-restrictor shower-head and aerators in your faucets to use less water.
    
    
14. Use the convection option of your oven whenever possible. It will reduce cooking/baking times up to 30% by circulating more heated air around the food.
    
    
15. Avoid pre-heating your oven for longer than is necessary. five to 10 minutes is usually sufficient.
    
    
16. Thaw frozen foods before cooking. they require less cooking time and, therefore, use less energy to prepare.
    
    
17. Insulating hot water pipes that run through unheated areas of your house reduce the need to have the temperature gauge so high on the hot water tank. If the top of your tank is warm, you might also wrap the tank in an insulation blanket to avoid loosing valuable hot water. You could save up to 10% on your next energy bill by lowering the temperature setting on your hot water tank from 60 to 50 degrees.
    
    
18. Avoid placing freezers near heat sources such as a stove, washer or furnace. To be energy efficient, the optimal temperature for your fridge is 2 to 4 degrees C, and for your freezer, the optimal temperature range should be -16 to -18 degrees C.
    
    
19. Defrost your freezer and refrigerator regularly when 7 millimetres (1/4") of frost has built up on the walls to ensure it continues to run efficiently.
    
    
20. Install motion sensors for outdoor lights and timers for indoor lights instead of leaving them on. You'll save energy and will still have a security feature for your home.

To help you learn specifically how you can improve the energy efficiency of your home and what improvements do make a difference, call 416-203-3106 for an appointment in your home with a Green$aver advisor.

By doing each of these, you save on your energy bill and carbon dioxide emissions from your home are reduced, helping to make our community a healthier place!

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