National Post
By: Mary Teresa Bitti
Mike Holmes has seen the light.
Canada's renovation guru and host of HGTV hit show Holmes on Homes and now Holmes Inspection, loves his house. It's about 2,500 square feet, sits on a nice piece of land and features four big lightposts out front with five lights on each post. It wasn't too long ago that each light featured a 100-watt incandescent bulb, which meant that he was using 2,000 watts of electricity when they were all turned on -- in addition to the 60-watt bulbs running throughout the interior of the house. No more.
"I took out all the bulbs in the house and converted them to 13-watt compact fluorescents spiral lights," Mr. Holmes says. "In total, I saved 80% in electrical costs on my lighting. Many of us don't realize lighting is where we use the most electricity after air conditioning and stoves."
In fact, there are a few energy culprits that come up again and again. For example, improper air sealing and insufficient insulation is a topic Mr. Holmes has been talking about for years.
"Minimum building code requires a thermal barrier," Mr. Holmes says. "That's not enough. The No. 1 thing we can do to save energy and avoid moisture and mould problems -- one of the biggest problems we face today with our homes -- is to insulate our basements with a thermal break that is either a rigid foam or a closed cell spray foam."
The next step, he says, is to make sure there is enough insulation in the attic to stop heat loss. "If we do these two things, we will be moving in the right direction."
Mr. Holmes also recommends installing a high-efficiency furnace with ducted lines to the outside that exhaust out and pull fresh air in. "Mid-efficiency furnaces only exhaust out and use the inside air as the intake. That's not a good thing. It leaves contaminants trapped inside."
If you are on the road to building a healthier, more energy-efficient home, take a holistic approach. "You have to look at the house as a system," says Michelle Cote, director, client relations at EnerQuality, an organization that helps Ontario home builders build energy efficient homes. "There is no one component that makes a house energy efficient. There is no point in throwing a whole bunch of money into a high efficiency furnace if you are not going to seal the house properly. It's everything together."
It has never been easier or more cost-effective for homeowners to get started on energy-efficient improvements. "There is some form of rebate for just about anything you would want to do," says Colin Andersen, CEO of the Ontario Power Authority (OPA).
For example, Ontario Power Authority's Cool Savings program will rebate up to $525 on the purchase of ENERGY STAR qualified central cooling and heating systems and $25 on the purchase of programmable thermostats.
"Our peak demand is driven by heating in winter and cooling in summer," Mr. Andersen says. "And it's happening at a point in the day when energy is at its most pricey. The more you can do to mitigate the use of that by using more efficient appliances, the better off you'll be. We are moving toward time-of-use pricing so people will want to use the least amount of electricity they can during the peak periods."
One way to cut electricity use is to replace inefficient appliances with energy-efficient models. According to Ener-Guide, a new energy-efficient fridge uses around 470 kilowatt-hours of electricity, about one-third what a refrigerator manufactured in 1984 would have used. Upgrading could save families up to $150 a year in energy costs and to help consumers make the switch, the Power Authority implemented the Refrigerator Roundup program.
"We will pick up your fridge, freezer and older air conditioners and dehumidifiers free of charge," Mr. Andersen says. Since launching 18 months ago, the OPA has picked up more than 165,000 appliances. "It's great because over 95% of the fridge gets recycled and the environmentally sensitive bits are dealt with appropriately. It is a leading-edge program in North America and has created a made-in-Ontario company and nearly 100 jobs, proving that conservation does create jobs."
Undertaking a home energy audit by an organization licensed by Natural Resources Canada will point out both areas for improvement and potentially thousands of dollars worth of rebates. The federal government has also created the Home Renovation Tax Credit, which could lead to up to $1,350 tax credit for home improvements.
"You are saving money, stimulating the economy and lessening your impact on the environment," Mr. Andersen says. "It's a triple win."
