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11.12.2020

Hamilton Home Owners: 20 tips to Save on Utilities This Winter

Homeowners

Say what you want about 2020, but the weather has been spectacular!  We have had a bright, beautiful summer, and fall has been glorious.

Still, winter will come, like it always does.  Dads everywhere will be yelling at family members to close the doors because ‘he doesn’t have money to heat the neighbourhood!’

How can you minimize spending on your utility bills this year?  Here are a few tips:

 

ELECTRICITY and WATER

Alectra Utilities has a new program that allows users to choose the plan that best suits their usage patterns.  Their options are either Time-of-Use Rates or Tiered Rates.

To figure out which one is best for your household, you’ll need to have a few recent bills handy.  Use Alectra’s residential calculators to see what your billing would look like under each option.

If you decide that you would like to switch to a different option, the easiest way is to create an online account here.  Your lifestyle will determine which program will save you the most, even if it’s just a few dollars.

 

Here are a few other tips to save on electricity (and water) this winter:

1.  Repair leaky faucets.  If your water heater is electric, a leaky faucet will waste, not only water, but the power to heat it, too.

2. While you’re thinking about your hot water tank, consider lowering the temperature. It is recommended that your hot water tank be set anywhere between 49 and 54°C, or 120 and 130°F. By doing this, you can spend a little less and still have a hot shower.

3. And on the topic of showers…get an energy efficient shower head to reduce your hot water use by up to 30%.

4. Use your dishwasher only for full loads.

5. Insulate your hot water pipes to prevent heat loss.

6. Open blinds and curtains to take advantage of natural light whenever possible, and use LED bulbs all other times.

7. Be conscious of turning off lights when not in use. (Dad was right, it’s a good thing to do!)

8. Use cool or warm water to wash clothes instead of hot.

9. Air dry clothes instead of using the dryer.  This will have the added benefit of replacing some of the moisture in the dry winter air.

10. When it’s not practical to air dry, try throwing a dry, fluffy towel in with your wet laundry.  It will help absorb some of the water and shorten the cycle.

11. If you’re really looking to save wherever you can, unplug small appliances when not in use.  Some estimates say doing this could save you $100-200 a year.

 

NATURAL GAS

A budget for heating is non negotiable in this part of the world, even in the most southern part of Ontario.  The most popular form of heat in our region is still natural gas, and there are some ways to reduce consumption and reduce utility bills here.

Obviously, if you are due to upgrade your equipment, a more efficient furnace (and air conditioner) will pay you back over time.  A natural gas fireplace will save you money as compared to a wood-burning one.  And a natural gas tankless water heater is more efficient than a traditional hot water holding tank, since it heats water on demand, and only as needed.

 

For those of us who are not in the market for a new gas appliance, though, there are still a few things we can do to reduce our energy consumption.

12. Get a programmable thermostat, and set it 20°C [or 68°F] during the day and 17°C [or 62.6°F] at night.

13. Keep the damper of your wood-burning fireplace closed to prevent cold air from coming inside.

14. Use one of these products to keep as much of the cold air from coming through windows as possible.

15. Seal gaps around doors with weatherstripping, and pay attention to areas around exterior hose bibs that could be letting cold air in.

16. Have your furnace serviced annually before winter and replace furnace filters. We think that this is the most important step, since the furnace is your biggest user of energy in the cold winter months.  Treating it to a little TLC is appropriate from an energy-efficiency as well as a safety perspective.

17. Reverse and run your ceiling fans. This allows them to circulate warmer air that rises to the upper areas of your rooms.

18. Add insulation to your attic.  The older your home, the more likely it is that you could stand to add some type of insulation to keep more heat in.  You can find some DIY tips here.

19. Add a humidifier.  This one may surprise you, but the fact is that dry air, besides being uncomfortable, doesn’t hold heat well.  Keeping moisture levels up a little will help keep heating costs down.

20. Finally, dress for the season.  Break out the cozy sweaters, socks, and slippers.  Norwegians have a sayingThere is no bad weather…only bad clothing.  (I know, it’s as annoying as it gets for us summer-loving, snowbird-wannabe types.  But we have to admit that dressing warm helps a whole lot when trying to survive yet another Canadian cold season.)

If you love winter – enjoy!  If you … like it less… hang in there!  Soon, we will be talking about spring cleaning and buds on the trees again.  That’s a promise.