Winter in Camrose has been pretty mild this year, until this week of course. As we settle in for what is hopefully a short, deep freeze, thinking about energy efficiency is only natural. Since the temperature is dipping down to the negative twenties now, you might have noticed that your house is starting to feel colder, or you’re even starting to possibly notice drafts.

Energy efficiency is no doubt important and is becoming more and more important to homeowners and home builders in all seasons. Furthermore, with the introduction of the carbon tax in the new year, energy efficiency will become more of a priority if you want to keep more cash in your wallet.

So there’s a lot of talk about energy efficiency and how to improve it in the home, but what does it mean, and where do you need to look in your own home? Let’s look at the two biggest areas of concern in the home.

Leaks and Drafts:

One thing to consider is that energy efficiency doesn’t only mean having a high efficiency furnace or hot water tank. During winter months it also means keeping the hot air inside your home from escaping and keeping the cold air outside from intruding. Take a walk around your home and feel around the exterior doors and windows. If you feel a cold draft coming in, find out where it’s coming from. You might be able to fix the problem by adjusting the weather stripping that is on the door or window, or you might have to buy some additional weather stripping from your local department store. It’s better to have the leak identified and have something over it to prevent the intrusion of cold air coming into the house. Remember a temporary solution for the winter season is better than no solution at all.

Insulation:

Insulation is going to be the greatest factor when trying to achieve a higher energy efficiency “rating” for your home. Whether it’s the insulation in your walls, ceiling, or under your basement slab, all these areas contribute to you having a warmer home in the winter and a cooler home in the summer. There are obvious limiting factors when trying to add more insulation to some of these areas but it doesn’t mean it’s not possible. Let’s start with the insulation in the ceiling, whether you have a new home or an older one, at one time the insulation in the ceiling space if it was “blown-in” had a certain insulation value but over time due to gravity that insulation will become a little more compacted and when that happens it reduces the insulation value in your ceiling. A simple solution is to hire a contractor to top off the insulation in your ceiling space.

energy efficient home
Adding insulation to your exterior walls can be a bit more difficult, however a simple solution would be to add insulation to the outside of your wall. An ideal time to do this is when you renovate the exterior of your home with new siding. This is also a great time to consider replacing your windows as well.

Adding any type of insulation underneath your basement slab would be challenging. A simple solution is to use a product like Dricore Subfloor. This subfloor has a rigid insulation backing that keeps the subfloor from having the direct contact with the concrete resulting in a warmer basement floor and of course an overall warmer basement to enjoy.

New Mechanical Equipment:

We’ve covered some of the elements that keep your house from losing heat, now it’s time to consider the mechanical equipment that generates heat. The efficiency of furnaces has no doubt come a long way. The fact that you can get a gas furnace that has an efficiency rating of 98% is amazing. If you have a mid-efficient furnace and are considering adding more insulation to the exterior of your home, you might want to also consider a new furnace. Having a high efficiency furnace means that you’re saving money every time it turns on.

Manufacturers also have designed furnaces with various features to make your living space more comfortable to create consistency with temperatures. That way every time your furnace comes on it doesn’t go from a cold house to a hot house, then back to a cold house and repeat. Having a variable speed motor in your house allows the furnace to bring hot air into the home at different rates. If the house has become cool the furnace will blow hot air in at a lower fan speed, making the transition more comfortable.

If there is a way in which you can heat your house more efficiently or better hold the heat in, this simply means more savings for you in the long run, and that means more money left in your wallet at the end of each month. There are various ways of making your home more efficient and the best place to start is to get a professional’s opinion on how that might be best achieved with the budget that you have.