Part 5: the Yin of Energy Consumption and Yang of Solar Power

Future Friendly Houses Are Worth More, Today and Tomorrow
Part 5: the Yin of Energy Consumption and Yang of Solar Power
A Five Part Series: Climate Change Begins at Home

If you want to understand sustainability, take a look at the footprint of your house. Learn how the power you consume relates to the power generation that you can achieve on your residential home. The Real Estate Market is moving to understand that energy is the second price tag of any house. This series will show you how to improve your property value while saving the environment at home.

Within the home there are five categories of energy consumption and loss; The Building Envelope, Lighting, Home Heating Systems, Hot Water, and Electric Appliances. The trick with keeping your house up to date is, not missing opportunities to do better.

From Laptops to Baseboard Heaters
I can’t think of a single room in my house that is not alive with the hum of power consumption. Even my little clock radio is drawing a constant charge, while my refrigerator is constantly fighting to keep the food cold. Hair dryers, clothes dryers, baseboard heaters, TVs, cell phone chargers, toothbrushes, and computers are drawing a constant flow of electricity from the grid. Somewhere at the end of the wires attached to your house is a hard working power facility which may include Hydro, and Wind, but likely includes Nuclear and Coal.

Appliances are always working
Reducing energy consumption is tied to your personal habits and to the energy efficiency of the appliances you choose. EnergyStar® appliances are a great way to reduce your energy use. The front loaded washer is a great example of where EnergyStar® appliances make a significant contribution to the conservation movement. Because the spin cycles on these appliances take so much of the water out of your clothes there is a significant energy savings in the drying process. Did you know that a typical laptop uses just one third the power of a desktop, require less energy to deliver to market? From an energy perspective Laptops pay for themselves in energy savings. When choosing appliances, seek EnergyStar® and when you get them home – turn them off when not is use.

PowerVampires
Always on appliances are common. Televisions and DVDs, Coffee Makers, Clock Radios, even phone chargers are constantly drawing a trickle of Electricity. Using power bars for entertainment centers can reduce your power consumption significantly.

Conservation Matters When you Look Closely
When exploring Solar solutions for my home, I came to grips with just how challenging sustainability really is. I am a very conscientious conserver, always turning off lights and power bars, but when I looked at how much solar energy I could produce at my home my meager efforts were illuminated. My 1200 square foot Toronto home consumes 12 Kilowatt Hours of power on an annualized average day. If I install solar panels I can produce 3.5 KiloWatt Hours Daily. If my entire south facing roof was covered in solar panels I would almost produce as much as I consume. When I compared the cost of savings from EnergyStar appliances and deeper conservation against Solar the ROI was clear, the low hanging fruit is through conservation and device replacement.

‘Solar Ready’ Costs Little and Sounds Great
Lighting and directional orientation are also major contributors to the future friendliness of a house. The better the flow of natural light in a house the less dependant residents are on electric lights during the day, and passive solar capture can significantly reduce the heating load of a house in winter. Appropriately shaded windows ensure that summer sun does not boost interior temperatures. “Simple things like the orientation of a house or development can affect future solar installations, and $100 of copper (pipe and wiring) can make a house ‘solar ready’ for future installations” says Rob McMonagle Senior Energy Consultant, City of Toronto.

Boil it Down
Think of home energy efficiency as active citizenship. The choices you make have an individual and societal cost. Creating an energy efficient house saves you money, improves the environment, reduces municipal operating costs, and improves your property value. You may be eligible for significant federal, provincial, and local grants. It’s hard to imagine why anyone renovating wouldn’t do it.

Chris Chopik is a Toronto based Realtor, Marketing Consultant and founder of EvolutionGreen.Com. Chris can be reached at chris@evolutiongreen.com or at 416 993 4870

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