Summer is over – it’s time to get ready for fall and winter. Soon enough, the colder seasons will blow leaves away from the trees, temperature is going to drop, but your electricity bills are only going to rise. Don’t panic: we are here to help you prepare your building and figure out ways to save a substantial amount of energy!
Energy-Efficient Light Bulbs
During fall and winter, days are shorter. Logically, we turn the light switch on earlier. Lighting represents around 7% of spendings on a yearly basis. However, with a little adjustment, you can greatly reduce that percentage. For the same time span, DEL energy-efficient light bulbs will last 25 times longer and their overall performance will be 85% better than regular ones. A small investment that will go a long way!
Reduce Hot Water Consumption
Water entering getting inside a building’s piping system is extremely cold in the winter. The associated costs of the water heater’s extended use can add up quickly. To limit your hot water consumption, we highly recommend taking a shower instead of a bath. Also, getting a water efficient showerhead will help you save even more (you can find one at Solutions Ecofitt– a one stop shop providing a great selection of energy saving products). Again, prioritize cold water over warm water when washing your clothes.
Optimize Window Insulation
Statistics show that 48% of generated heat escapes through inefficient windows. It goes without saying – this massive energy loss has a direct impact on electricity bills. Unless you optimize it, glass is in fact a very poor insulant.
Want a revolutionary solution? SketchNanoGard! Our liquid coating is an innovative nanotechnology window coating allowing people to enjoy a maximum of natural sunlight, while reducing the influence of the exterior temperature on the ambient interior temperature of a building. Thanks to the coating’s thermal barrier, heat loss will be greatly reduced.
By avoiding such important energy losses, you’ll benefit from significant savings throughout the year.
Choose a good thermostat
As mentioned earlier, the biggest energy related expense is directly linked to heating and air conditioning. This being the case, the two most efficient solutions to avoid wasteful spending gravitate around insulation and ambient temperature control. According to Hydro-Québec, you could save between 5% to 7% of your heating costs just by reducing the ambient temperature by only 2 degree Celsius.
By choosing a programmable thermostat and by controlling the energy consumption throughout the day, you’ll be making the right move for the environment, but also for your wallet.
Solar panels
Solar panels obviously represent a fair investment, but they can easily become profitable on the short term. Plus, they are a great example of a perfectly ecological solution.
For example, a family of four living in Thetford Mines, Québec, is able to produce 97% of its electricity with a solar panel system. On a yearly basis, their energy bill comes up to a total of $172.
Of course, an initial investment of $30 000 was necessary to install the system, but we can still easily imagine all the savings one could make – even with just a couple of panels. Mixing both solar and hydro energy can be a great option in the long run.
Talking about solar energy, Sketch Nanotechnologies will have a surprise for you in October, 2017… stay tuned!
