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Stop being an energy hog. Take a stroll down Green Street and see how clean energy can be. The International Home and Garden Show, starting today and running through Sunday, takes visitors on a sustainable energy tour and details how a few simple changes to people's existing lifestyle will save them money and resources.
According to Bill Kemp, a renewable energy consultant, the average household will spend $250,000 during their lifetime on home heating, electricity and gas.
"Canadians use more energy per capita than anyone else in the world, and it has nothing to do with temperature or location," says Kemp. "Everybody wants to save the planet, but nobody wants to pay for it."
Kemp says we squander energy because it's cheap. Whereas European countries live an energy-efficient lifestyle without sacrificing their standard of living by using compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs), low-flow shower heads and aerator faucets, among other initiatives.
"German consumers use less than half the energy we do.
"They leave product packaging behind in stores for manufacturers to recycle," he adds.
They're much more adept at reducing, reusing and recycling, and still drive BMWs.
That mindset, however, is slow to reach our shores because "economics drive our attitude. We'll start to save energy when it hits our pocketbooks directly," he adds.
We also think conservation means freezing in the dark.
"Being energy efficient is doing more with less -- not doing without."
Kemp's house in eastern Ontario is not connected to the hydro grid, yet has enough juice to power the normal amenities of living.
He has a wide-screen TV, three computers, a fax, a copier machine, a hot tub, a treadmill; he owns energy-efficient appliances but also uses a bread machine and cappuccino maker and still consumes six times less energy than the average Ontario home.
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Kemp's custom-built house employs solar panels, a wind turbine and propane to sustain his lifestyle -- it's environmentally sound and saves him loads of money.
Urban dwellers, however, can immediately put money back in their pockets by replacing all their incandescent lightbulbs with CFLs.
They use four and half times less energy, last 10 times longer and will pay for themselves within a year," adds Kemp, author of $mart Power: An Urban Guide To Renewable Energy and Efficiency.
He also suggests conducting an EnerGuide for Houses audit that will demonstrate how money seeps out the cracks and crevices of your home.
Get an evaluation
Barbara Mullally Pauly agrees. The chief of housing programs at Natural Resources Canada says an evaluation could save you hundreds in energy costs every year, and you could qualify for a federal grant to offset the costs.
"One of the barriers homeowners face is knowing where to begin," says Mullally Pauly.
An impartial third party conducts the evaluation and outlines how and where the house uses and loses energy, and costs between $150 and $175.
The homeowner will see which areas are the most cost-effective ways to become energy efficient and has 18 months to complete the job before being re-evaluated.
"The grant is based on the measured improvement of energy performance between the first and second evaluation," explains Mullally Pauly.
"Currently, homowners in Ontario are receiving an average of $799.
"If they're planning a basement renovation, however, they could realize a much larger grant.
"Once the work is complete, homeowners will be saving as much as 27% on their current heating bills," she adds.