Cool Neighbourhoods is a grass roots program that works with homeowners to try to help reduce home energy use.
"We find that it's often hard for people to sort of bridge the next level of taking some action because they're not sure what to do," says McIlroy. "They're not quite motivated enough to take some action or there's a lot of information out there but it's hard information to sift through and they might not know who to trust, what to listen to or what's accurate."
The majority of energy use is related to heating, but free thermal imaging services, offered through the municipalities, can provide residents with information about where they might be losing heat, says McIlroy.
She says if you seal up your home properly and have insulation in place you're less likely to need to run your furnace as much or as hard. "It might not mean that you actually need a new furnace, you might just need to better manage how the heat is being used or lost."
Making changes in energy use does not have to come with a high price tag. McIlroy says one of the first steps is changing habits around energy use, such as turning off lights in areas that are not in use and using lights more strategically, such as tall standup lamps that shine upwards in the corner of a room, reflecting light off of both walls.
"You can sort of learn a lot of those little tricks about how to use lighting and the behaviour of actually just turning down your thermostat a bit and getting used to the cooler temperature and using throws and blankets if you're watching TV or wearing a sweater in your home," she says. "There's a lot you can do that might not cost you anything and result in a little bit of an energy savings and cost savings and it also sort of starts your thinking a bit more, you get used to one level and start to think about what else you can do."
Large televisions, cable boxes and gaming systems are becoming a more significant draw on electricity than things such as refrigerators or dishwashers, says McIlroy.
"Those sorts of electronics you can often plug them into a power bar and then you just turn off that power bar when you're not using things," she says. "Then if you wanted to take it to the next level with heat loss, looking at the sort of simple caulking around windows and doors and in all those areas of drafts where maybe you didn't realize they were happening can make quite a bit of difference, so just beefing up your insulation a little bit where it's easy to do in your roof or attic or down in your basement."
For more info visit coolneighbourhoods.org.
ANNE NNE NNE WATSON, AWATSON@NSNE NSNE NSNE NSNE WS.COM
TIPS TO HELP SAVE ENERGY
Keep refrigerators at a temperature around 23 °C.n Wash laundry in cold water and hang clothes to dry whenever possible.
Cover pots when boiling water and use the smallest pot possible for the job.n Use the refrigerator to defrost food rather than the microwave.
Switch to energy-efficient lighting indoors and outdoors, using LED ED s wherever possible.n Arrange furniture to make the most of natural light.n Angle blinds for heat control (reflection and deflection).
Use paints with reflective sheens on ceilings and use lighter, more reflective colours.n When you open your oven door, 20 per cent of the heat is lost. Look through the oven window instead.
