Top Ten Tips For a Greener Home or Business
Here at Impact Energy - we’re all about making an impact on your energy bill - ie - lowering it. We’re also laser focussed on helping our customers decrease their carbon footprint to make a smaller impact on the planet. Here are our top ten tips for your home or business to reduce your monthly electric bill and your carbon footprint.
While some of these recommendations can be done yourself, we always recommend consulting a certified technician to get the most value from your efforts. (We would say that wouldn't we... )
1. Service your Furnace
To make your furnace more efficient, it's important to clean and maintain the unit. First, have a professional service your furnaces once per year by cleaning out parts you can't see or reach as well as making sure that it isn't working harder than necessary. In addition, replace filters every three months especially if you've recently done renovations or own pets.
2. Seal The Ductwork
If you seal your ductwork, hot air will not escape. This means that you'll be paying to heat places where it's unnecessary (like the unfinished basement) and won't get as much heat in other areas of the house like upper floor rooms. By applying heating vent tape to all visible joints on your ductwork, this problem can easily be solved.
3. Test windows and doors
Save money and energy by caulking, weatherstripping, installing door sweeps or applying window film in colder months to your home. If an incense stick or candle flickers near a frame you have drafts that are wasting heating and cooling costs if not fixed.
4. Maintain or Replace Large Appliances
Be proactive and take care of your appliances. By making sure that your AC unit, fridge, washing machine, dishwasher and other large appliances are working at peak efficiency you will not only save money on your power bills, you'll also avoid and delay costly replacements.
But if the time has come, we do recommend replacing outdated appliances with their greener counterparts. Look for more energy-efficient appliances, and spend the money up-front for the long-term economic and environmental savings.
5. Get A Smarter HOME
Smart home automation uses internet-connected devices - like your smartphone - to monitor and control anything from your appliances, locks, lights, heating, cooling, irrigation, and more.
A smart thermostat, for example, can reduce your heating and cooling costs by up to 15 percent. In addition, a 'smart home' gives you greater control over energy use by automating things like temperature control, turning on/off lights, and opening/closing window treatments based upon current weather conditions.
6. Sprinkle Smarter
There are a few different ways to save water and energy with your sprinkler system. Start by watering on cooler cloudy days when less moisture will evaporate and water at night if possible to prevent evaporation loss. If you have an irrigation system, check the system regularly for leaks, and repair immediately. If you want to get serious about water conservation and convenience, consider adding a smart controller. With a smart sprinkler controller, your lawn is watered remotely and automatically through an app. The app also helps you schedule when to water your grass for optimal results, as well as the duration of each watering session based on daily weather reports. Finally, consider using drip irrigation instead as it requires much less water than traditional sprinklers!
7. Here's a bright idea. Replace your bulbs
Replacing standard incandescent light bulbs with CFL and LED alternatives can save you a lot of money. They last at least ten times longer than the average bulb, use much less energy, and are more cost-efficient for your electric bill in the long run.
8. Power your home or office with alternative energy
Changing your energy source can be as simple as moving to natural gas appliances or you consider turning your home or business into a power plant. Solar panels are becoming more and more accessible ( with the help of green funding) and a way to seriously cut emissions and operating costs in the long term.
9. Access to Green Funding
Want to go green, but need a little more $green$ to get there? Fortunately - federal and provincial governments are on your side with ongoing mandates to help homes, business, and industry shift to greener energy. Here at Impact, we keep current on the latest funding, incentives, and rebates to help you go green without going broke on upfront costs.
Ag Funding: How to Get it and Where to Spend It
10. Energy Audits and Preventative Maintenance Programs
Once you’ve done everything you can accomplish yourself, a professional can tell you where there’s room for energy savings. Impact Energy provides homes and businesses with many of the services listed above along with energy assessments and ongoing preventative maintenance programs. We also keep our ear to the ground on green funding government programs to help finance your next green move.
