Single-family housing is the second-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in London because of the fossil fuels homes use for heating and for hot water. Renovating existing homes with energy-saving improvements is a priority included in London’s Climate Emergency Action Plan.
Home energy retrofits
A home energy retrofit involves making changes at home to reduce the amount of energy your household uses. This could also include potentially changing the sources of energy used in the home to lower-emission ones. By investing in retrofits that make your home more energy efficient, you will lower your energy costs, reduce your maintenance requirements, reduce your carbon emissions, and support the local economy and local jobs. The costs and savings associated with home energy retrofits is largely dependent on the age, condition and size of the house, with older homes generally having greater potential for savings.
Minor retrofits could include:
- Caulking and adding weather strips around windows and doors to eliminate drafts.
- Adding insulation
- Upgrading lighting systems
- Installing a smart thermostat
Major retrofits could include:
- Replacing windows and doors
- Updating inefficient heating and cooling systems
- Installing low-flow faucets
- Installing net-metered solar power
For Londoners in rented homes, the measures above would need to be undertaken by property owners. However, tenants can make some draft-proofing improvements such as:
- Temporary window film for draft-proofing and insulation
- Electrical outlet foam gaskets for exterior walls
- Draft-proofing tape for exterior doors
Making your home more energy efficient and resilient to climate change
Available incentives and service providers
There are several incentives offered by the federal government, the Province of Ontario, and local partners for homeowners in London to support home energy retrofits. Many of the incentives below can be “mixed and matched”, in that a home owner could use one or more of these programs to help fund the renovation work. However, two different programs cannot be used to fund the same measure.
Residents are encouraged to contact service providers directly as they develop their own plan to make their home more energy efficient and resilient to climate change.
- The Clean Home Heating Initiative - a limited time offer of up to $4,500 from Enbridge and the Province of Ontario to replace an existing central air conditioning unit with an air-sourced heat pump combined with a smart thermostat controller and an existing high-efficiency gas furnace to provide hybrid home heating.
- The Canada Greener Homes program - offers up to $5,000 for a range of home energy and climate resiliency measures. This program also offers interest-free loans of up to $40,000, with a repayment term of 10 years to help you undertake major home retrofits. Potentially eligible measures include:
- Insulation
- Draft-proofing
- Windows and doors
- Smart thermostats
- Heat pumps
- Solar PV panels
- Back-up power battery packs (tied to solar panels)
- Basement wall waterproofing
- Moisture-proofing crawl spaces
- Roofing membranes
- Enbridge’s Home Efficiency Rebate program - offers up to $5,000 for a range of home energy efficiency measures, including:
- Insulation
- Draft-proofing
- Windows and doors
- Smart thermostats
- High-efficiency gas-fired furnace or boiler
- High-efficiency gas-fired hot water heater
- Enbridge’s Home Winterization program - income-qualified households can access free insulation, draft-proofing, and smart thermostat installation for gas-heated homes.
- Save on Energy's Energy Affordability program - offers energy saving upgrades for electrically-heated homes.
- London Environmental Network’s Greener Homes London program - this program provides residents with the self-guidance tools and resources to assist them with reducing their environmental impact at home.
- London Hydro’s Net Metering program - allows Londoners to generate their own electricity to offset some or all their electricity needs using solar power.
Accessing the Canada Greener Homes program incentives and Enbridge’s Home Efficiency Rebate program incentives requires pre- and post-retrofit EnerGuide evaluations, which the program will provide up to an additional $600 to cover these costs. Find energy advisors serving London.
Rooftop solar panels and MyHEAT Solar
MyHEAT Solar
MyHEAT Solar is an online tool that can help identify the potential financial and environmental benefits solar panels would have on your roof at home.
When you enter your address, your home is identified using Google Maps and a personalized analysis is created of how successful solar panels would be if installed on your roof. MyHEAT Solar helps share resources, rebates, and solar installers in your area to help you get started.
Net metering
In Ontario, homeowners can use solar power in a “net metering” arrangement where excess solar power is credited for use at other times.
Incentives are also available through The Canada Greener Homes program.
Water conservation
Every drop of drinking water used or wasted carries with it an environmental impact. Treating and pumping our water and sewage is responsible for about one-third of the energy use and greenhouse gas emissions from municipal operations in Ontario. Conserving water can limit these impacts.
Every litre of water that does not need to be treated and pumped reduces energy use and emissions.
Showers and baths
In London, the majority of a person’s daily water consumption is used for bathing. Of the water used, almost half is heated.
Heating water for bathing requires a lot of natural gas and can account for approximately 25% of the energy consumed in your home. A five-minute shower with a standard showerhead uses 100 litres of water. The same length of shower with an ultra low-flow showerhead uses only 35 litres of water.
How you can lower your water and energy use:
- Reduce your shower time
- Install a high efficiency showerhead with a WaterSense label
Hot water recirculation units
If you find yourself running the tap for more than 30 seconds while waiting for hot water, you may want to install a hot water recirculation unit to help save money on your water bill and limit wasted water. A hot water recirculation unit works by circulating water through the pipes so that room temperature water can return to be reheated, rather than go down the drain. When you want hot water, it's there instantly. As every property is unique, please contact a professional for more information on whether this system can help you save money and water in your home.
Toilets
There are many ways to save water through your home's toilet. including reducing the number of times you flush per day, finding and repairing any leaks you have and retrofitting your home and toilets to be more water efficient.
20% of an average Londoner’s daily water use is flushed down the toilet. One toilet flush can use up to 18 litres of water. Ultra-low flush toilets can use up to 12 litres less water per flush while maintaining the same flushing power.
How you can lower your water and energy use:
- Install a low-flow toilet WaterSense label.
- Avoid unnecessary flushing.
- Never flush wipes down the toilet. Even if a product states it is “flushable”, these items do not readily decompose in the sewers and lead to major problems in wastewater pumping stations and treatment plants. They can even negatively impact your home's plumbing.
- Check for any leaks in your toilet by adding food colouring to your water tank and waiting 15-30 minutes to see if the colour spreads to the bowl without flushing. If there is any colour in the bowl, then you have a leak, and your toilet needs to be repaired.
- Check your toilets for worn out, corroded or bent parts.
- Replace or adjust the toilet flush handle if it is sticking regularly as this causes water to flow constantly.
- For toilets larger than 6 litres, place a water-filled plastic bottle or commercial toilet insert into the tank. This reduces the volume of water needed to fill the tank, but still provides enough for flushing.
Washing machines
A traditional washing machine uses approximately 190 litres of water to wash a large load. A high efficiency washing machine can save you up to 100 lites of water per large load of laundry.
How you can lower your water and energy use:
- If you can, wear your clothes more than once to avoid unnessesary loads of laundry.
- Select the correct load sizes and cycles on your machine when doing laundry.
- Wash full loads of laundry to save money, water, energy and detergent.
- When buying new washing machine, consider purchasing a front-loading model. These machines use less water, reduce energy costs, require less soap and are gentler on your clothes. If you can't select a top-load washer, choose one that is high efficiency.
- Wash in cold water to save money and conserve hot water for other uses. Washing in cold water also reduces damage to clothes.
- Check for and repair any leaks around the washing machine taps and hoses.
- Use environmentally friendly detergents that have no phosphate and are biodegradable.
The kitchen
While preparing dinner or doing dishes, look for ways your family can reduce its water use in the kitchen.
How you can lower your water and energy use:
- Soak your pots and pans instead of letting the water run while you scrape them clean.
- Keep a container of drinking water in the refrigerator to reduce the wasteful habit of running tap water to cool it before drinking.
- Do not use running water to thaw meat or other frozen foods. Instead, defrost foods overnight in your refrigerator or use the microwave’s defrost settings.
- Save water from cooking vegetables and use it for soups and gravies or use it to give your houseplants a drink once the water is cool.
- Boil vegetables using just enough water to cover them. Steaming vegetables not only uses less water, it conserves more nutrients.
- Install an instant water heater in your kitchen so you don't have to run water for it to heat up. This also can reduce heating costs in your home.
- Collect fats, oils, and grease (FOG) in a cup and keep it from going down the drain. FOG can block London's sewer system when it's poured down your sink or into your toilet. When FOG hardens, you could end up flooding your basement. Free FOG Cups can be picked up at City of London EnviroDepots and at London Public Library locations.
Outdoor water use
The way in which you water your lawn is just as important as how often and how much water you use. It is important to choose the right irrigation system for the landscape.
How you can lower your water and energy use:
- The best time to water your lawn or garden is the early morning. Avoid watering in the late evening which can cause long periods of dampness increasing the risk of disease and fungus.
- Be mindful of municipal water alerts. Lawn and garden watering may be limited to certain dates to conserve water during the warmer months.
- Rain barrels are an excellent way to conserve water and save money on your water bills. They collect rain water that can be used for your lawn and garden.
- Avoid using a lawn sprinkler. If you must use a sprinkler, install a water efficient component such as a low-rise sprinkler head, soaker hoses, or a drip irrigation system and use a timer. Make sure you are not watering sidewalks and driveways.
- Purchase a rain gauge to determine how much rain or irrigation your yard has already received each week.
- Water your plants deeply but less frequently to create healthier and stronger landscapes.
- Adjust your lawn watering schedule and method so that it is specific to your lawn’s soil condition.
- Avoid overwatering. Watering your lawn too much and too often will cause shorter root systems to develop making it susceptible to dry conditions. Overwatering indicators include yellowing or lighter green leaves, or algae and fungi growth. One inch of water per week is enough.
- When selecting plants and grass to reseed your landscape, consider drought-resistant grasses and plants. Group plants with the same watering needs together to get the most out of your watering time.
- Outfit your hose with a shut-off nozzle which can adjust the water flow rate.
- Eliminate hose and tap leaks by using hose washers between the spigot and the water hose.
Water conservation while you are away from home
Going away for a trip or vacation? Set your water heater to vacation mode or lower the temperature a few degrees.
Turning off the main water supply to your home is also the best defense against flooding caused by a burst pipe or other plumbing failure.
First, locate the main water supply valve in your home. The valve should have a wheel control or lever handle to open and close it. It is perfectly safe to turn it off by either turning the wheel clockwise or closing the lever. If you don’t know where to locate the valve, you may find it in the basement, in the crawl space, or outside your home.
Flooding prevention at home
Flooding has been identified as one of the highest risks in London caused by climate change. Sump pumps, sump pits, and backwater valves can help prevent flooding. Basement window well covers, downspout extensions, downspout splash blocks, and landscaping to maintain or create surface swales can also help water flow away from homes.
The City's Basement Flooding Grant Program is designed to provide financial assistance to property owners to disconnect their weeping tiles from the City’s sewer systems and to install a sump pit and sump pump, and backwater valve.
Standing water in your yard can also occur for several different reasons such as soil type, lot grading, time of year, intensity of the rain event and any changes that have occurred on the property that have reduced green space. Lot grading helps ensure that rain and snow melt flow away your home. Proper lot grading can prevent ponding of stormwater and reduce the likelihood of flooded basements and damp yards.
Tree planting
Planting native trees around you house will provide shade and can act as a wind break reducing the energy your home needs for both summer cooling and winter heating. Trees also help absorb heavy rainfall and reduce stormwater flows.
72 Hour emergency kit
Prepare a 72 hour emergency kit to use in the event of a power outage, neighbourhood disaster or any emergency that requires Londoners to shelter-in-place. Typical items contained in a 72-hour emergency kit include bottled water, medications, food for 3 days, first aid kit, wind-up flashlight and radio, external battery pack or wind-up phone charger, dust mask and duct tape, whistle, personal sanitation items, important documents, cash in small bills and coins, warm clothing, and blankets or sleeping bags.
Calculate your household's carbon footprint
The first step you can take to lower your environmental impact is to measure your household's carbon footprint. More than 1,000 London households have already used Project Neutral’s carbon calculator to create a personalized action plan, and start making a positive impact. Use the calculator and discover your carbon footprint in five minutes.
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