To follow up on my post from Wednesday, I’m going to share a bit of what’s going on in my Energy Efficiency retrofitting for my house in Charlottetown.
So I’ve just started the process. And this post is to help guide others in their energy efficiency. (I’m also still learning so feel free to share as well).
I wanted to share some of my discoveries
so far in hopes that it can be useful for you as well.
- Where to Start?
- What I’ve Done
- Simple vs Complicated or sexy vs efficient
- Just Do Something!
- Next Steps
1. Where to Start?
Here’s a question for you: “If I told you to give me 100$ now, and I’ll give you $150 per year for the rest of your life, would you do it?” OF COURSE YOU WOULD! This is the opportunity many house owners have, and there are multiple deals they can do with themselves that resemble this deal.
Here is an EXCELLENT tool, and this details the returns you can get.
Just have a quick look at the ROI column of these changes, some of them, you can recoup the cost in a single year, like the thermostat, CFL etc.
2. What I’ve done
The “no-brainers” are the ones that pay themselves off the first year (or are likely to). Here’s what I’ve done/am doing.
- Programmable Thermostats or Smart Thermostats like “Nest”
- CFL lightbulbs
- Sealing Air ducts
- Tune-up of your furnace
- Water efficient shower head
- and I would add: “Sealed Air Leaks”.
I even hired a contractor to seal all the air leaks (windows and doors). It took him 2 hours, and these are easy “wins”, and give immediate results (I feel less drafts and it is warmer in my house + I’m saving).
3. Simple vs Complicated or Sexy vs Efficient
I feel that when people talk about energy efficiency, they are thinking of a complicated renewable energy system (solar or wind), whereas reduction is much more bang for the buck + it’s simple. Start there!
4. Just Do Something!
For those who are on the fence, I recommend to just do something, get started! I know I’ve started, and I’ve got some “wins” under my belt and now I want to keep on going. I haven’t installed my Nest Thermostat yet, but I’m excited!
5. Next Steps
I keep referring to this guide to know where to look next. I am going to do insulation in the attic as well. I may install some heat pumps as well, seeing as I have access to a grant this year.
So that’s it for now. I can give a full report at the end of the year. My heat bill was over $3000 last year, let’s see what difference a few smart moves can do!
The other thing, is that I’m going to reduce my oil consumption from +/- 3000 L of heating oil per year to … we’ll see. That is a source of pride too.
Anyone else want to share their story? Anyone have success stories? Great things to share? Any questions?
Mathieu Arsenault 