Reduce your ecological footprint at home
The occupation of a house has an ecological impact, with all the energy consumption involved.
Therefore, it is important of apply a few tips which will allow you to reduce your ecological footprint, protect your environment by reducing your load on Mother Earth, but also to save money!
Sealing your home
Did you know that...?
The average cost of energy consumption in Canadian households is $2000 per year. These costs are related to heating, appliances, water heaters and lighting.
Small cracks, slits or even holes in the walls, floors and ceilings can account for a considerable energy loss. The elimination of these air leaks can reduce your heating and air-conditioning costs by 5% to 30%.
So think of caulking your doors and windows and installing a weather strip.
It is also important to have good insulation (products made of cellulose or recycled denim) to avoid heat loss.
Heating and air-conditioning
- Regularly check and replace (at each new season or half yearly) the filters of your appliances.
- Install a programmable thermostat and lower the temperature by 1 or 2°c and put on a sweater. Think of lowering the temperature when you leave your home; 18 or 19°c is a good temperature and don't raise it more than 2 to 3°c upon your return.
- In summer, opt for a fan rather than an air-conditioner. For example, a ceiling fan uses ten times less electricity.
- Think of closing your curtains and blinds at night in winter and during the day in summer.
Nature tip
In the northern hemisphere, plant evergreens in front of the north side of your house, they will protect you from cold winds, and plant deciduous trees in front of the south side to benefit from their shade in summer.
Eco-energetic electronic and household appliances
When buying new electronic or household appliances, favour eco-energetic appliances. The most common and well-known ones are those with the Energy Star standard. They certainly cost more to buy, but they will allow you to reduce your energy consumption and therefore your bills.
You can reduce your consumption by reducing the use of certain appliances or by paying attention to how you use them.
- Air dry your clothes.
- Keep your fridge and oven doors closed as much as possible.
- Thaw out foods the day before in the fridge rather than in the micro-wave.
- Don't run your dryer or dishwasher half-empty and favour "Energy Saver" programs.
- Cold-water wash when your clothes aren't very dirty.
- Turn off your computers when not using them.
- Don't leave all the chargers and electronic appliances plugged in, they are responsible for "phantom" consumption. Use a power bar and turn it off when you're no longer using the appliances.
- If you change your household appliances, think of recycling them.
Lighting
We won't be returning to candles, but the days of old incandescent bulbs are over because they consume more and don't last as long.
- Favour fluo-compact or LED light bulbs (electroluminescent diode), they consume 4 times less energy and last 10 times longer. Be careful! These light bulbs contain a small quantity of mercury, so we can't throw them out in the household trash. Think of recycling them in special bins for this purpose. Consult the RecycFluo website , you will find information on the light bulb recycling stations in your town.
- Turn off the lights when you leave the room.
Did you know that...?
Incandescent light bulbs only use 10% of their energy for light, the rest just produces heat.
Water
Did you know that...?
An open tap lets out about 8 litres of water per minute.
The average Canadian consumes an average of 340 litres of water per day. Such waste is explained by the fact that water is free in Canada. Be careful, for water is a precious resource which could become scarce even in countries like Canada which has 20% of the world's fresh water reserves.
The rule for reducing your water consumption is therefore: Reduce, Repair and Replace.
Reduce
- Don't let your water run for no reason, while washing dishes or brushing your teeth.
- Save toilet water by placing a bottle of water in the reservoir in order to reduce the water required to fill it.
- You can have dry toilets installed at your home. Refer to the Institute's guide Reduce, Re-use, Recycle and Value waste on page 50 and you will find all the advice on How to build dry toilets?
- Prefer a shower over a bath. A full tub contains between 158 and 315 litres of water while a 5 minute shower only uses 45 to 68 litres.
- Wash your car with a cloth or sponge and not with your hose or at the car wash.
- Don't send water down the drain when it can be reused for other things like watering plants or housecleaning.
Repair
Did you know that...?
A tap dripping a drop per second wastes about 9000 litres of water per day.
Roll up your sleeves and get ready to prepare small leaks in toilets or faucets. The parts are inexpensive and with a bit of know-how you can repair it all yourself.
Replace
- Favour toilets with smaller flush tanks - 3 to 6 litres instead of 13 to 20 litres for a traditional tank.
- Changer your shower head for one with lower spray intensity.
- When you change your washing machine, choose a front-loader, it uses half the water, doesn't ruin your clothes, reduces drying time due to a stronger spin and reduces 50% of your energy consumption.
Here's a list of tips which should help you reduce your energy consumption and thus your greenhouse gases emissions. You must keep in mind that water and energy saving measures can be an investment, but this quickly pays off and you will save money, while helping to preserve Mother Earth.