One of the biggest forms of energy waste that the average Canadian experiences is related to heating and cooling their home. That extensive energy loss is not good for the environment and it is certainly not a great for your monthly hydro bills. If you want to know how you can save money and be a greener homeowner, here is a brief list of sure-fire ways to prevent energy loss.
Fiberglass Doors
Start off your energy-efficient home makeover with fiberglass entry doors, since they will protect your home from cold air leaks, reduce your hydro bills and shrink your carbon footprint. Fiberglass doors from Casa Bella Windows & Doors are built with additional features to guard a property against energy loss — they have full-perimeter compression weather stripping, superior self-draining sill designs and thermal breaks to prevent frost and condensation. You can check to see if your local window and door company is named on the High-Efficiency Energy Star Participant list to prove that their products are qualified to stop energy waste.
Energy-Efficient Windows
According to Natural Resources Canada, a home’s windows and entry doors account for up to twenty-five percent of heat loss — this means that the indoor temperature is not properly contained and that energy is being wasted. Naturally, after finding an energy-saving fiberglass door you should equip your home with energy-efficient windows. High-quality energy-efficient windows are one of the top eco renovations with long-term benefits because they immediately reduce waste, they keep a property comfortable and they last for years after their initial installation.
If you are worried about the cost of replacing all of your home’s windows with energy-efficient upgrades, the government is offering window rebates as an incentive for homeowners to get the responsible renovation. The program is offering $500 for every energy-efficient window replacement that you get — the maximum coverage is for ten new windows at a total rebate of $5000 to help with the renovation. The windows need to be certified to Climate Zone 3, they need be listed as one of Energy Star’s Most Efficient models and the installations must replace existing windows. The most important qualification for the rebate from the Green Ontario Fund is that the windows must be acquired and installed by a contractor participating in the program, like Casa Bella Windows & Doors.
Professional Installations
Window installations are one of the top projects you shouldn’t DIY because you risk doing a poor job resulting in expensive mistakes that will need to be fixed in the near future. One common mistake is forgetting to properly seal all of the gaps during the installation, so that cold air drafts enter the home — even when you purchase energy-efficient windows, they could lose all of their benefits with the wrong installation. This is why you should hire professionals to complete the project for you so that all of the gaps are sealed, the placement is perfect and the product operates as it should. Experts will also ensure that problems like wood rot, mold or moisture damage are not neglected — they will inform you of the obstacle right away so that it does not ruin your new windows. Casa Bella Windows & Doors has fully-trained, licensed, insured and experienced installers ready to help you with your window replacements so that you get the energy-saving results that you want.
These three suggestions will completely transform your home so that no heat seeps out of gaps and no air drafts ruin the temperature. You will notice an immediate difference with the numbers on your hydro bills and the results for your carbon footprint. When you make the right renovation decisions, you can become a financially-savvy and environmentally-friendly homeowner.
