IMPROVING ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Did you know that Canadians use more energy than any other country in the world? On Walpole Island, the major source of energy comes from hydro-electricity and the burning of natural gas.

Here are some ways you can cut down on your energy consumption in various parts of the house.

Lighting

• Make the best of natural light sources.
  
• Turn off lights when you leave the room.
  
• If possible, try using low watt bulbs.
  
• Use task lighting (e.g. a desk lamp instead of a central ceiling fixture.)
  
• Try switching your lighting from incandescent bulbs to fluorescent lights. One twin-tube, 48 inch, 40 watt fluorescent fixture produces up to 4 times more light than one 100 watt incandescent bulb and lasts 10 times longer.
  
• Make sure bulbs and fixtures are clean.
  
• On incandescent bulbs, install dimmer switches.
  

Heating and Cooling: Space Heating

• Lower your thermostat at night to 17° C.
  
• Set your thermostat to 20 ° C during the day or lower if no one is home.
  
• Close drapes during the night to reduce heat loss through windows.
  
• Keep baseboard heaters or registers free of debris.
  
• Clean your furnace filters regularly.
  
• Seal heating ducts work with duct tape and insulate ducts when passing through unheated space.
  
• Keep dampers on fireplaces and wood stoves tightly closed so that warm air does not escape.
  
• Plant hedges or trees or use a fence as windbreakers.

Heating and Cooling: Water Heater

• Keep your hot water heater set at 49° C.
  
• Insulate your water tank with glass fibre insulation.
  
• Insulate hot water pipes where they pass through crawlspaces.
  
• Drain about 4.5 litres from your hot water tank about every 2 months to reduce scaling and remove sediment.
  
• Turn off your hot water heater if you are away on weekends or vacation.

Heating and Cooling: Space Cooling

• Keep drapes and blinds closed during the days to reduce heat.
  
• Ventilate your attic with outside air.
  
• Keep or plant shade trees along the East and West sides of your house.
  
• Ventilate your home when the air is cool outside and reduce during the day to keep hot air out.
  
• Keep air conditioners in good condition and keep set at 25° C.
  

Alternative Sources
There are a growing number of alternative heating sources available. They range in cost and energy saved. They are heating with woodstoves or furnaces, cornstoves and geothermal furnaces.

Alternative Sources: Woodstoves and Furnaces

• Try burning well-seasoned wood or wood that has a drying period of six months.
  
• If possible, burn wood when there is a wind. That way smoke can disperse, thereby reducing the impact on the environment.
  

Alternative Sources: Cornstoves
Much like woodstoves, cornstoves have some advantages. First, since the corn is burned at a greater temperature than wood, the resulting smoke is cleaner than that from woodstoves. Second, the corn used for fuel can be less expensive than wood. Also, burning corn saves valuable trees - corn can be grown and harvested faster than trees, so there is less impact on the environment.

Alternative Sources: Geothermal Furnaces
Geothermal furnaces use the ground as a source of heat. To make use of natural warmth, tubes are buried near your house, so that they may take the warm air to your furnace. The furnace then heats (using electricity) the air a little more to reach the desired temperature. The same process can also be used to cool your home.

Appliances
When you have buy a new appliance, instead of just considering price, also consider the cost of operation. The "EnerGuide" system was established to help you calculate the cost of operating your new appliance for its average lifetime.

With the following simple calculation, you can figure out what the operating cost would be.

EnerGuide Rating:
kWh/month x 12 months x life of appliance x electricity cost ($/kWh)
Please note that the average lifetimes of appliances are:

• dishwasher - 13 years
  
• fridge - 17 years
  
• clothes washer - 14 years
  
• freezers - 21 years
  
• electric stove - 18 years
  
• clothes dryer - 18 years

Appliances: Refrigerator
To ensure the efficient running of your refrigerator, keep the following in mind.

• Do not overload. Inside air circulation is important.
  
• Do not keep door open longer than necessary.
  
• Locate away from stoves and other heat sources.
  
• Thaw foods in the fridge - this helps keep it cool.
  
• Keep coiling coils clean and free of debris.
  
• Leave a space along the back and sides to ensure proper air circulation around the coils.
  
• Make sure your door seal is tight and not letting out cool air. Check by placing a sheet of paper in the door and pulling. It should be snug.
  
• Defrost the freezer section if there is 7mm. of frost.

Appliances: Freezers

• Chest freezers are more energy efficient than upright models.
  
• Don't buy a larger freezer than you need.

Appliances: Stoves
Match the pot size to a burner size - if you place a small pot on a large burner, you are wasting heat all the way around, and it is dangerous.
Use energy efficient double boilers, pressure cookers, slow cookers, steamers, and electric kettles when possible as they waste less heat.
Keep the oven door closed. 20% of the heat can be lost when it is opened. Use the oven window and light to look at your food.
Electronic ignition gas ranges are more efficient than a pilot light that burns gas all the time.
Glass (smooth) topped stoves use more energy.
Keep drip pans clean as they reflect heat back to the pot.
Turn off the oven before the food is finished cooking. The residual heat will finish the job.
Self-cleaning ovens are better insulated resulting in the use of less energy.
Make sure the door closes tightly.

Appliances: Dishwashers

• Clean the screens regularly.
  
• Wash only full dish loads.
  
• Use the econo cycle as it saves energy and water.
  
• Let your dishes air dry to save.
  
• Buy dishwashers with a hot water booster, so your hot water tank can be lowered to 49° C.

Appliances: Clothes Washers

• Front loading washers use less water than top loading washers.
  
• Use cold and warm water settings when possible.
  
• Wash only full loads.

Appliances: Clothes Dryers

• Hang out your clothes when possible.
  
• Clean filter after every load.
  
• Avoid over-drying and use automatic settings.
  
• Vent outdoors as it uses less energy than if it is vented inside.