Home Energy
Local resources, incentive programs and selected, helpful web links that will help in the implementation of energy-efficient changes to the home and small business.
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Web resourcesHome efficiency resources (National)Natural Resources Canada's Office of Energy Efficiency has many publications on home efficiency. You can download most of them or order copies in the mail. Please note: The federal government is no longer accepting ecoENERGY Retrofit (Homes) bookings for pre-retrofit evaluations. Eartheasy (Vancouver Island)This Vancouver Island-based website offers information, products, as well as energy and water saving ideas for your home and life. LightingLighting Reference Guide (National)Natural Resources Canada has an online lighting reference guide. Get enlightened (National)Natural Resources Canada's Office of Energy Efficiency has an online booklet that provides a range of tips for energy-efficient lighting. Q&A on Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs)(National)Natural Resources Canada's Office of Energy Efficiency has a question and answer page about Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs). Timeclocks and photocells (National)The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) offers some information on timeclocks and photocells. Queen's University Live Building Daylighting Ideas (National)The Queen's University Live Building project focuses mainly on energy efficiency for a commercial building, but many of their ideas can be applied to homes as well. Heating & CoolingOntario Ministry of Energy's Heating and Cooling Your Home Guide (National)This guide is primarily aimed at homeowners who are thinking of upgrading or replacing their home's existing heating/cooling systems, but offers some information on other actions you can take to keep your home cool in summer. Keeping the Heat In (National)Natural Resource Canada's Office of Energy Efficiency has a number of print and downloadable resources for home and business efficiency. Keeping the Heat In is a detailed resource with information on various upgrades and a detailed materials guide. Insulating Your House (National)The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has a downloadable PDF on Insulating Your House, as well as other insulation information available on their website. For more information, read about insulation in our Home Heating and Home Cooling guides. DIY Guide to Sealing and Insulating with ENERGY STAR® (National)The DIY guide offers step-by-step instructions to do-it-yourself sealing and insulating. The Handy Canadian (National)To help with your energy-efficient home heating or home cooling, the Handy Canadian has some information on do-it-yourself insulating. Air Leakage Control (National)This Natural Resources Canada downloadable PDF [PDF, 384 Kb] discusses the moist and dry issues of air leakage. Measuring Humidity in Your Home (National)You can use a hygrometer to measure the moisture levels in your home. Find out more information from the Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation About Your House Series. Get additional information from our Upgrade Your Ventilation tip in Home Heating. Pay attention to proper ventilation when you are insulating or draftproofing your home. Choosing a Dehumidifier (National)Too much moisture in a home can cause health problems and can rot your home's structure. This section from the Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation's About Your House series discusses the benefits of using a dehumidifier. Get additional information from our Upgrade Your Ventilation tip in Home Heating. Ventilation is also is important to learn about when you are insulating or draftproofing your home. Heat Recovery Ventilator (National)This paper from Natural Resources Canada covers heat recovery ventilators and provides an introduction to mechanical ventilation in general. You can download or order a free print copy. For more on the benefits of mechanical ventilation, read our Upgrade Your Ventilation tip in Home Heating. Ventilation is important to learn about when you are insulating or draftproofing your home. Maintaining Your Heat Recovery Ventilator (National)This section from the Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation About Your House series offers seven steps to taking care of your heat recovery ventilator. Ventilation is important to learn about when you are insulating or draftproofing your home. Get additional information about mechanical ventilation from our Upgrade Your Ventilation tip in Home Heating. Indoor Air Quality (National)The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) website has a section on Indoor Air Quality issues. Like moisture, this can be important to learn about when you are insulating or draftproofing your home. Insulation, sealing and ventilation are best addressed together. Carbon Monoxide (National)Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation's About Your House series. This paper offers information on what carbon monoxide (CO) is and how to keep it from collecting in your home. For more on how to ventilate your home, read our Upgrade Your Ventilation tip in Home Heating. Keep ventilation in mind when you are insulating or draftproofing your home. Non-Toxic Paints (Vancouver Island)The eartheasy.com website has a comprehensive guide to non-toxic paint that can brighten up your home or office. Moisture Problems (National)This downloadable PDF about Moisture Problems [PDF, 638 Kb] from the Natural Resources Canada's Office of Energy Efficiency offers an in-depth discussion on how to maintain moisture balance for health and for the structural longevity of your house. For more on ventilation, read our Upgrade Your Ventilation tip in Home Heating. Remember to consider ventilation when you are insulating or draftproofing your home. Moisture & Mold (National)The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) website has a section on moisture and mold issues, which is important to learn about when you are insulating or draftproofing your home. Get additional information from our Upgrade Your Ventilation tip in Home Heating. The Condominium Owners' Guide to Mold (National)Mold is symptom of a poorly ventilated building. Read this information about what a condo owner can do to protect their home from mold from the Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation's About Your House series. Get additional information from our Upgrade Your Ventilation tip in Home Heating. Ventilation is important to learn about when you are insulating or draftproofing your home. Fighting Mold – The Homeowners' Guide (National)Mold is symptom of a poorly ventilated house. Read this information on how home owners can protect their home from mold from the Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation's About Your House series. Get additional information from our Upgrade Your Ventilation tip in Home Heating. The Tenant's Guide to Mold (National)Mold is symptom of a poorly ventilated building. Read this information about a tenant's responsibilities from the Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation's About Your House series. Get additional information from our Upgrade Your Ventilation tip in Home Heating. ENERGY STAR Programmable Thermostats (National)This guide gives information about programmable thermostats, including use guidelines, features, installation and other recommendations. Read our Home Heating Guide for more ways to stay warm efficiently. Air & ground-source heat pumps (Vancouver Island)Pro Star Mechanical's website has information on air and ground-source heat pumps. Get more information on heat pumps from our Heat Pumps tip in our Home Heating Guide. Air-source heat pumps (National)The Natural Resources of Canada's Office of Energy Efficiency has an informative section on air-source heat pumps that includes maps of Canada and the best heat pump ratings for each region. Get more information on heat pumps from our Heat Pumps tip in our Home Heating Guide. FortisBC heat pump incentive (Southern B.C.)FortisBC's PowerSense Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP) Rebate or Loan offers FortisBC customers a rebate or financing on qualifying models of energy-efficient air-source heat pumps. The financial incentives consist of either a rebate or financing of up to $5,000 over 10 years at a 4.9% fixed rate. Residential wood heating (National)This informative document [PDF, 127 Kb] from Natural Resources Canada compares different kinds of wood-burning fireplaces. The Masonry Heater Association of North America (National)This website has information and guidelines on efficient design and installation of masonry wood heaters. Gas fireplace ratings guide (National)If you are getting a gas fireplace, use Natural Resource Canada's Energy Efficiency Ratings of Gas Fireplaces guide to find the efficiency of a particular gas fireplace, or to find all the fireplaces in a given efficiency range. Efficiency of gas fireplaces (National)This publication from Natural Resources Canada's Office of Energy Efficiency does the math on the cost of heating with a gas fireplace. The Importance of Bathroom and Kitchen Fans (National)Ventilation is key to a healthy and energy-efficient indoor environment. This section from the Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation's About Your House series outlines the difference a bathroom or kitchen fan can make. Read our Upgrade Your Ventilation tip in Home Heating for more information. Ventilation is important to learn about when you are insulating or draftproofing your home. Attic Venting (National)This section of the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) website has information on venting requirements for attics, as well as dealing with attic moisture and leaks. Natural Home Cooling (Vancouver Island)The natural home cooling section of the eartheasy.com website has some information on insulation and venting your attic. This information is helpful for home heating as well as home cooling. Helping Your Trees Survive Storm Damage (National)If you use trees for natural home cooling, you'll want to keep them healthy. This article from the Canadian Housing and Mortgage Corporation's About Your House series offers pruning advice to restore the health and shape of trees damaged by ice or windstorms. Learn more about trees and natural home cooling in our Home Cooling Green Guide. Art Knapp Plant Information Library (Southern B.C.)Trees can be used to help keep your home naturally cool in warm weather, without blocking winter sunshine. Art Knapp's website offers information on the growth and care of fruit trees and garden plants. Much of the information is geared for the south Okanagan climate, but some of it is useful wherever you are. You can also ask questions at their online help centre. Read more about using trees for home cooling. National Geographic’s Green Guide 'Shades of Green' Q&A (International)Window coverings are great insulators in winter or summer. This online question and answer offers a detailed discussion of the ecological considerations in selecting window-covering materials. See our Home Heating and Home Cooling guides for more information on the insulating benefits of window coverings. eBay’s Window Treatments Buying Guide (International)Use window coverings to save on heating and cooling energy use. This guide offers information on various types of window coverings, as well as how to measure your windows. There is also a guide specific to blinds that outlines the various styles of blinds and how to find ones that fit your windows. See our Home Heating and Home Cooling guides for information on the insulating benefits of window coverings. WaterHow to Go Green: Water (National)Treehugger.com's How to Go Green: Water guide offers grey water recycling information. Recycling Gray Water for Home Gardens (International)Umassgreeninfo.org is U.S.-based, but is very informative about grey water recycling ideas and benefits. (Note: in any web search for further resources try searching grey as well as the U.S. spelling, gray) AppliancesEnergy-efficient home appliances (National)This page on the Natural Resources of Canada's Office of Energy Efficiency website links to a series of downloadable PDFs on energy efficiency in home appliances. Making home appliances more energy-efficient (Vancouver Island)The eartheasy.com website offers information on making efficient choices when buying and using appliances. ENERGY STAR qualified appliances (National)Natural Resources Canada's Office of Energy Efficiency has a list of current ENERGY STAR-approved appliances, as well as information about the approval system. ENERGY STAR clothes washers (National)The ENERGY STAR website has detailed information on ENERGY STAR-rated washing machines. DIY pedal-powered washing machine (International)These pedal-powered washing machines, featured on treehugger.com are made from parts of old washing machines. See Home Appliances for more energy-efficient appliance ideas. MayaPedal pedal-powered washing machine (Vancouver)This YouTube video from MayaPedal demonstrates how this pedal-powered washing machine works, all made from scrap materials. MayaPedal began as a joint Guatemala-Canada initiative through the Vancouver-based organization Pedal. See Home Appliances for more energy-efficient appliance ideas. Consumer's guide to energy-efficient dryers (National)This page found on the Natural Resources of Canada's Office of Energy Efficiency website offers some further information on energy efficiency in buying and using dryers. ENERGY STAR qualified dishwashers (National)Natural Resources Canada's Office of Energy Efficiency has a list of current ENERGY STAR-approved dishwashers, as well as information about the approval system. Getting the most energy savings from your dishwasher (B.C.)BC Hydro offers tips to make your dishwasher run in the most energy-efficient manner. ENERGY STAR Refrigerators & Freezers (National)The ENERGY STAR website has detailed information on ENERGY STAR refrigerators and freezers. Small Electrical Appliances (National)This page from Natural Resources Canada's Office of Energy Efficiency has information on the benefits of using small appliances and their relative energy draws. What is a convection oven? (National)The wisegeek.com site also has information on toaster ovens and microwave convection ovens. Solar ovens (National)This eartheasy.com article on solar ovens gives some history of the oven and information on its use in North America. ElectronicsBuyaBattery (Vancouver)BuyaBattery.com is an online battery retailer based in Vancouver. Their website offers helpful battery facts about rechargeable batteries. Nu-Life Industries (Aldergrove)Aldergrove, B.C.-based Nu-Life Industries provides recycling services for all types of batteries. They also offer environmentally sound services for the disposal of fluorescent and other mercury-containing lights. Conserve energy at home (National)Natural Resources Canada's Office of Energy Efficiency initiative promotes various ways residential consumers and businesses can conserve energy and save money. ecoACTION (National)Read more about what Canada's federal government is doing to help consumers reduce standby power. Technical Specifications for Computers (National)Natural Resources Canada's Office of Energy Efficiency lists the international ENERGY STAR Technical Specifications for Computers, which gives consumers a comprehensive guide to energy efficiency and power management requirements that computers must meet in order to qualify as ENERGY STAR. Office Energy Efficiency (International)The New Buildings Institute is a Washington-based non-profit that promotes energy efficiency in new commercial building development. While many of their ideas are for new construction, the site offers interesting lighting design ideas and information. Local resourcesCertified energy auditors (National)Natural Resources of Canada's Office of Energy Efficiency can help you find a certified energy auditor near you. Green building professionals (Vancouver, Vancouver Island)The Light House Sustainable Building Centre in Vancouver has an online green building professionals guide, which you can use to help find the contractor you need. Plant and garden stores (B.C.)The staff at plant and garden shops often know a lot about the best trees and other plants for the local climate and for your home shading needs. They will also be able to inform you about care and maintenance of the plants you choose. Use their knowledge to help you plan your energy-efficient landscaping. Green real estate (Vancouver)The Greener Realty Association has a wealth of information on environmental and health features to look for when buying a home, on realty listings that are environmentally sound and will list homes for sale that meet his green home criteria. PassivHaus dwellings (International)PassivHaus, or passive house dwellings, are highly energy efficient, requiring little to no heating or cooling inputs. While not common in North America yet, the first certified PassivHaus in Canada is being built as part of the Avalon Ecovillage near Kelowna, B.C. The Cascadia Region Green Building Council (Lower Mainland, Southern B.C., Vancouver Island)This group offers workshops and a wealth of information on green buildings. They have locations in Vancouver, Victoria and the Okanagan. Watch their website for upcoming workshops in B.C. Light House Sustainable Building Centre (Vancouver, B.C.)Light House is a Vancouver-based information centre that hosts a weekly free Guest Expert series with sustainable building professionals speaking on various topics, including landscaping and gardening. Check their schedule of upcoming workshops. CityGreen Solutions (Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island)This organization puts on numerous workshops throughout the year and offers up-to-date energy efficiency resources on their website. Watch for landscaping or gardening workshops. Energy Savings Plan workshop listings (Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island, Southern B.C.)The Energy Savings Plan website offers a great list of energy efficiency workshops around B.C. The rest of their website has many other useful resources as well. Avalon Alliance (Southern B.C.)If you are building or renovating, it is a great opportunity to maximize natural light (and heat) in your home. Avalon offers professional sustainability consulting, design-build services, experimental research, educational programs and training to both the public and private sectors. FortisBC's PowerSense initiative (Southern B.C.)FortisBC is offering incentives for energy-efficient upgrades for new or existing homes to its customers. BC Hydro Fridge Buy-Back Program (B.C.)BC Hydro will pick up and pay $30 for fridges between 10 and 24 cubic feet (0.28 - 0.68m3) that are in working condition. Maximum two per customer. Product Stewardship Program (B.C.)A government strategy to place the responsibility for end-of-life product management on the producer and consumers of a product, and not the general taxpayer or local government. Check this website for a list of electronics and computer manufacturers that have take-back programs for Canadian consumers. SmartWash Rebate Program (Victoria)The Capital Regional District Water Service in Victoria offers Victoria residents a $125 rebate on the purchase and installation of a qualifying high-efficiency clothes washer. Recycling Council of B.C.The Recycling Council of B.C., founded in 1974, is Canada's oldest recycling council. Check their site to find out about what you can do to reduce E-waste in your home. Recycling Fridges and FreezersWherever you have your fridge and freezer recycled, ensure they remove CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) before the appliances are crushed. The coolants in refrigerators and freezers contain CFCs. If not recovered properly, these gases can escape and damage the atmosphere's ozone layer. Electronic Recycling Association (National)Electronic Recycling Association (ERA) is a not-for profit organization working with the public and private sector helping companies and the public deal with unwanted electronic items. ERA collects old computers for donation and recycling in Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Toronto and across Canada. Return-It Electronics (National)Check the website to learn more about B.C.’s Return-It Electronics end-of-life electronics recycling program, available to all consumers and businesses in British Columbia. You can drop off any of the regulated products at designated collection sites without charge and be assured they will be recycled responsibly. CFL recycling facilities (Southern B.C., Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island)Because CFLs contain some mercury, it is essential that you recycle spent bulbs. Find a recycler in your area.
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Last Modified: Apr 12, 2011