When it comes to home energy consumption trends in Canada, there’s good news and bad news. Between 1990 and 2017, energy efficiency in Canadian homes increased by 51%. But, over the same time period, our overall household energy use increased by 5.7%. In today’s post, I’ll look at the main drivers of household energy usage. Then, I’ve got 20 home energy saving tips that will save you money and reduce your environmental impact.
If our homes are more energy efficient, why are we using more energy?
According to Natural Resources Canada, some of the growth in energy use between 1990 and 2017 can be attributed to an increase in the total number of households.
But that only accounts for part of the increase. The rest was driven by our choices:
- Larger homes – while the number of people per household decreased from 2.8 to 2.5, the size of our homes increased from 122 square metres to 145 square metres. That’s almost a 20% increase.
- The number of appliances per household increased from 15 to 22. The broad category of appliances includes computers and electronic devices, so that’s not really a big surprise.
- Increased use of air conditioning. The percentage of space cooled over this time period more than doubled from 22% to 48%.
Top drivers of energy use in Canadian homes
We often think of saving energy by turning off lights and unplugging our devices and appliances when they’re not in use. It may surprise you to know that lighting and appliances combined represent less than 20% of household energy use in Canada. According to Natural Resources Canada, here’s how our energy consumption breaks down.
- Space heating – 61.7%
- Water heating – 19.3%
- Appliances – 13.6%
- Lighting – 3.6%
- Space cooling – 1.9%
Home energy saving tips
Here are some home energy saving tips that will not only save you money, they will have a positive impact on the environment.
Heating and cooling your home
Since heating and cooling our homes accounts for close to two-thirds of energy use, it makes sense to start here when looking for ways to reduce energy consumption.
First and foremost, think about the size of your home. A larger home means more space to heat and cool. If you’re not using every square inch of space in your home, consider moving to a smaller home.
If you’re not ready to make that leap, here are some ways to reduce your heating and cooling costs without moving.
- Install a programmable thermostat that will automatically adjust your household temperature when you’re out at work, or at night when you’re sleeping.
- Lower your thermostat setting by 1 or 2 degrees in winter, and raise it by the same in summer.
- Turn off your air conditioner and open some windows when the outdoor temperature cools off in the evening.
- Replace your furnace filter regularly.
- Upgrade your insulation.
- Replace old windows and doors.
Water heating
Heating water is the second highest energy hog in our homes. Here are some tips to reduce the impact.
- Consider a tankless water heater that heats the water as you need it, instead of heating a full tank.
- Lower the temperature on your water heater.
- Wash your laundry in cold water.
- Run your washing machine and dishwasher only when you have a full load.
- Take showers instead of baths, and keep your showers short.
- Install low-flow shower heads.
For tips on how to reduce overall water consumption, check out 10 ways you can use less water.
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Appliances
Although they only account for 13% of our household energy consumption, we use our appliances every day so these energy saving tips can add up.
- Buy energy saving appliances. Today’s appliances are much more energy efficient so you may save money by replacing that 40-year-old bar fridge in your garage or basement with a more energy efficient version. Look for the EnergyStar rating when shopping.
- Hang your laundry to dry and give your dryer a break.
- Use a toaster oven if you’re only cooking a small quantity of food instead of heating up the oven.
- Keep your appliances clean – empty the lint trap in your dryer, and clean behind and under the refrigerator.
- Don’t leave your phone plugged in to charge overnight. It only takes a couple of hours to charge.
- Let your hair air dry instead of using a blow dryer.
Lighting
Finally, while they may be lowest on the list of energy consumers, don’t forget your lights. Here are a couple of simple tips.
- Turn off lights when you leave the room.
- Switch your incandescent lightbulbs to LED. The US Department of Energy suggests the average household can save over $200 a year by making this simple switch.
Despite the increasing popularity of green energy, carbon-emitting energy sources will be with us for some time. In the meantime, with the residential sector accounting for about a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada, any changes we can make to reduce our impact will help.
What are your best home energy saving tips? Tell us below.
I am always looking for ways to save money and reduce my impact on the environment. I’m not perfect when it comes to this topic, but every little change can help. 😊
Thank you for sharing so much information about the main drivers of household energy usage.
Your water heating tips are great; I only run a washing machine with a full load. Your appliance tips are useful, especially the cleaning behind and under the refrigerator; it is not something I think about.
Thank you for sharing your energy-saving tips. 😊
Thank you. I’m glad you found the tips useful. You’re right. Every small change helps.
I love these tips, I think I do most of these. My flatmates all wash at 40 degress but luckily I’ve got in the habit of switching to 30 degrees. Currently we don’t have the heating on, but I’m a bit worried for when it has to go on because the thermostat doesn’t work very well 😬😬
Thanks Caroline. I’m so happy to hear you are already doing many of these. Every small change makes a difference. We’ve had a lovely September so we haven’t had to turn our heat on yet. It’s very rare not to have the furnace on at least a couple of days in September.
These are great tips! I am always looking for a few small things I can do to reduce my carbon footprint!
Thanks. Those little changes definitely add up.
These are great ideas for saving energy! And it’s interesting to see the breakdown of energy consumption. I can’t say I’m too surprised that heating is at the top of the list. I think turning off lights and using small (instead of big) appliances are the two tips that always go through my mind for saving energy.
My dad used to harp on us as kids “Turn off the lights! Do you think we’re made of money?!” I think that’s why I always associate turning off lights with saving energy. It’s still a good thing to do but it doesn’t have the impact we thought.
I got that one and the “close the door! We’re not trying to heat the outdoors!” 😆 I mean it’s valid, but it’s funny what we remember 🙂
Oh yes. I heard “Are you trying to heat the whole street?” so many times. LOL
Luckily we already do most of these things here in South Africa, since electricity is a scare resource here.
That’s good to hear. Here in a resource-rich Canada, we can learn a lot from other countries. We take a lot of things for granted.
Excellent ideas, Michelle! I always try and turn lights off whenever I leave a room. I also try to unplug appliances when I’m not using them. I honestly am not sure if it saves power or not. Cher xoxoxo
I don’t know either Cher. I guess we have to believe it does save power. XOX
😊 xox
Great tips! I’ve been slowly making the switch to LED lights as my lights burn out.
That’s great. They really do make a big difference.
I was wondering about this, Michelle, washing clothes with cold water. I wanted to do it here but the washing machine has pre-sets and it seems it is not possible to do it.
Oh that’s too bad. I had an old washing machine and it was just always set on cold water wash. We got a new one last year that has presets but I can override it. It’s just a pain because I always have to remember to override it.