Shelter
While our homes shelter us from the environment, we should be
making sustainable choices about our home energy use so we can protect the environment as well. There are lots of ways to use energy
in our homes and there are lots of ways to make the most of that energy. Besides creating expensive bills, wasting energy in our homes
can have a high toll on our environment. By reducing energy-wasting activities and increasing conservation efforts, we can decrease the
money leaving our pockets and the energy leaking out of the house at the same time. From simple strategies like air drying our clothes
instead of using the dryer and more complex actions like replacing old appliances with energy efficient models, there are many ways to
reduce energy-demand in the home.
Did You Know?
- Six power plants which only produce around 3% of Ontario's power produce 29 million tons of greenhouse gasses.
- The Ontario Government has issued a sales tax rebate for renewable energy systems that are purchased and installed on private residences.
- "Canadians spend about $75 billion annually—10 percent of our GDP—on energy to heat homes and offices, and to operate cars, factories and appliances. This is equivalent to $2,500 per person." (www.flickoff.org)
- Check walls, doors and windows for drafts and seal 'em up – up to 40% of heat loss is from these areas. (www.davidsuzuki.org)
Using less energy in our houses is an important way to lessen our impact on the environment. Making sure that the energy we do use stays in our houses instead of being lost to the outside environment will help to save money and prevent excess energy use. To conserve energy in our homes we can simply reduce the amount we are demanding to heat and light our homes. We can also use preventative strategies such as installing proper insulation and replacing old windows and doors to remove leaks and improve the glass for optimum energy containment.
By reducing our demand for energy in the household, we can alleviate pressure on the companies providing it. During peak hours, from 12 pm – 7 pm, we can avoid demand overloads that could lead to blackouts. Using minimal energy not only saves us money, it saves the from environment undue stress. Since most of the energy produced for our consumption comes from non-renewable resources such as fossil fuels, decreasing our demand will reduce the speed at which we are using these finite resources up.