RE/MAX Select Realty

  • Home
  • Listings (For Sale)
    • Active Listings
    • Recent Sales
    • Luxury Condos
    • IDX Map Search
    • Map of Current Listings
    • Sales Map
    • Media-Successful Sales
  • Sell Smart
    • 10 Tips For Successful Home Staging
    • Home Renovation Tips
    • Tips for Selling Your Home
  • Buy Smart
    • Non-Resident Buyers
    • Home Buying Guide: Getting Started
    • Finding A Home That Suits Your Lifestyle
    • Condo/Strata Experts
  • Meet Karel & Darryl
  • Blog
    • Newsletter
  • Testimonials
  • Contact
    • Market Trend Reports
  1. Blog
  2. making-your-home-more-energy-efficient

back to article list

Making Your Home More Energy Efficient

  • facebook share

Small changes reap big savings

When it comes to making your home more energy efficient, you can easily make small changes that won't cost you a dime.

By Vancouver SunJanuary 27, 2012

When it comes to making your home more energy efficient, you can easily make small changes that won't cost you a dime.

With even a modest budget, big changes are possible, especially if you qualify for some of the grants and rebates available to home buyers and owners going green. And you'll recoup energy costs in the long-term making these change worthwhile. Where to begin?

Location

. Green neighbourhoods. Buy a home in a neighbourhood close to work, transit, shopping, community centres and other services.

. Transit-oriented density. New, compact, complete green neighbourhoods are being built with transit as their focus. Instead of owning a car, join a car share cooperative, take transit, cycle or walk.

. Lower-cost luxury. If it's features such as a gym or pool you want, buy a strata unit with these amenities and share costs.

. Score your location. Walkable neighbourhoods offer health, environmental, financial and community benefits. Enter your address or the address of a home you want to buy at www.walkscore.com. This tool calculates a walkability score based on the home's proximity to transit, grocery stores, schools and other amenities.

Home improvement

. Get an energy audit. LiveSmart BC will cover $150 of the cost.

. Install a high-efficiency heating system. Make sure it's ENERGY STAR rated.

. Weatherize your home. From windows (BC Hydro provides grants of $60-$120) to doors to insulation and weather stripping. Don't forget to seal your ducts.

. Insulate your pipes. It will prevent costly heat loss.

. Insulate your hot water heater. Buy a pre-cut jacket or blanket for $10-$20. You'll save up to 10 per cent on heating costs.

. Install a programmable thermostat. Set it lower at night and during the day when you're away. Lower the temperature. Each degree below 20C saves you three to five per cent on heating costs.

. Clean your furnace filter. This optimizes performance.

. Get the most from your fireplace. Here's how to make it efficient.

. Use curtains. In the day time during summer, close to help cool your home.

. Install ceiling fans. The energy it takes to run a fan is less than an air conditioner. In summer, make sure the fan's blades are rotating anticlockwise for a cooling effect. In winter, the fan should be running clockwise, pushing the warm air down.

. Use a portable fan. On hot summer days, place a bowl of ice in front of it to cool down.

. Fix plumbing. Fix leaking taps. One drop per second equals 7,000 litres of water wasted per year.

. Install a water filter. Stop buying costly bottled water which adds to the landfill.

. Change your light bulbs. Lighting accounts for 15 per cent of your energy bill. Replace old bulbs with ENERGY STAR rated bulbs. Check for rebates.

. Sensor lights. Turn lights off outside when not in use.

. Keep it dark. Light pollution is an increasing problem. Turn off outdoor lights to save energy and encourage nightlife such as bats and frogs. A single bat can eat tens of thousands of mosquitoes nightly. If you have safety concerns, use motion detector lights - which come on, only as needed.

. Use LED lights during the holidays.

. Replace your fridge. An old energy guzzling fridge costs you about $85 a year to operate. Replace it with an ENERGY STAR fridge. BC Hydro will rebate you $50. BC Hydro will also not only come and pick up your old fridge free of charge, they'll rebate you $30.

. Replace your dishwasher. Buy an ENERGY STAR appliance. BC Hydro will rebate you $25.

. Replace your freezer. Buy an ENERGY STAR appliance and BC Hydro will rebate you $25.

Yard improvement

. Conserve water. Fresh water comprises just three per cent the world's total water supply, so conserve. Get a rain barrel and harvest water you can use in your garden. Local governments such as Vancouver and Richmond will subsidize the cost.

. Less lawn. Lawns waste water. Instead conserve and beautify using indigenous plants such as ferns, tiger lilies and hostas.

. Grow your own. How much more will you spend on food this year? Even a few miniature fruit trees and a small vegetable garden in a raised bed or in containers will help keep you healthy and save you dollars. Lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries and blueberries thrive in our climate. Here's how.

. Preserve your produce. Invest in home canning jars and equipment and a small freezer and enjoy your produce year round - at considerable savings.

Real Estate Board of Vancouver

© (c) CanWest MediaWorks Publications Inc.  

This entry was posted on February 13th, 2012 by Karel Palla | Posted in General

Categories

  • Feature Property
  • General
  • Listings
  • Real Estate Reports
  • Wanted

Archives

  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • July 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • August 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • September 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
  • November 2008
  • October 2008
  • September 2008
  • August 2008
  • July 2008
  • June 2008
  • May 2008
  • April 2008
  • March 2008
  • February 2008
  • January 2008
  • December 2007
  • November 2007
  • October 2007
  • September 2007
  • August 2007
  • July 2007
  • June 2007
  • May 2007
  • April 2007
  • March 2007
  • February 2007
  • January 2007
  • December 2006
  • November 2006
  • October 2006
  • September 2006
  • August 2006
  • July 2006
  • June 2006
  • May 2006
  • April 2006
  • March 2006
  • February 2006
  • January 2006
  • December 2005
  • November 2005
  • October 2005
  • September 2005
  • August 2005
  • June 2005

RSS 2

Making Your Home More Energy Efficient

  • Site by PALLA MEDIA
  • 604-678-3334
  • 604-329-1430
  • kpalla@shaw.ca

 604.678.3334

Karel: 604.329.1430

Darryl: 604.644.5920

kpalla@shaw.ca

darrylsj@shaw.ca

Copyright © 2021. RE/MAX Select Realty. All rights reserved.

  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
  • Real Estate websites for Agents