You could significantly boost the overall value of your home just by making some eco-friendly choices. Your property will immediately be more valuable to future buyers due to increased durability, energy efficiency and upgraded systems, resulting in overall savings during the lifetime of the building.
There are so many ways to cut your energy needs, just by making good choices, right from the beginning, Your energy consumption will automatically improve just by better sealing and insulating the building envelope, by choosing better equipment to heat and cool the space, and energy efficient appliances for your everyday needs.
When it comes to lighting, LED fixtures and bulbs can be six-seven times more energy efficient than conventional incandescent lights and cut energy use by more than 80 percent. Good-quality LED bulbs can have a useful life of 25,000 hours or more — meaning they can last more than 25 times longer than traditional light bulbs. And unlike incandescent bulbs — which release 90 percent of their energy as heat — LEDs use energy far more efficiently with little wasted heat.
LEDs contain no mercury. Using LED’s in your home helps eliminate tons of carbon emissions
Don’t forget to just switch it off if you’re not using it. http://www.torontohydro.com
Planting shade trees in your yard will provide natural cooling in the summer and block chilling winds in the winter.
By planning from the beginning, buyers and builders can make wise choices for locally sourced, sustainable building products, recycled and reused whenever possible. This will go a long way toward cutting down on time, distance and cost for delivery of materials and supplies, and conserve natural resources. Green remodeling and building focus on reducing the waste created during the project and reusing materials whenever possible. Doors can be reused as doors, or other things; bricks can be repurposed, to name a few. For instance, Recycled-content decking, which is made from recycled plastic and wood fibers, can last five times longer than traditional wood decking, and it never needs to be treated or painted. Traditional hardwood floors are beautiful, but they can be from old-growth trees that take decades to grow. The supplies for a bamboo floor can grow in less than a year. Reusing materials will lower your costs, and give your home some personality. If you really can’t use something, find a recycled goods company that can. Using the fewest possible resources makes environmental sense, and it’ll be easier on your wallet, too. Ingenuity comes from inspiration!
https://www.hgtv.com/design/real-estate/
Everything in this list adds up to your smaller carbon footprint. By consciously choosing to use energy efficient systems and appliances, less water, fewer natural resources, by creating less waste, reducing, reusing and recycling what you do use, you will create less carbon, less pollution, and less waste, which directly results in better air quality, and increased health and well-being for you, your family, your Community and your World. Not a bad return for making some smart choices!
According to a poll done by iSustainableEarth.com, people said the most important reason to go green was to ensure a liveable Earth for future generations. Set a good example, and others will follow. Feeling good about contributing to the good of the Earth makes us feel good about our choices.
One of the criteria for a well-built green home is to plan from the beginning. This results in the best choices to suit the buyer’s needs, especially when it comes to insulation, windows, doors, roofing, flooring, HVAC, plumbing and electrical systems, as well as materials and finishes. Better planning will result in a more durable home and cost savings down the road..
You can easily save hundreds of dollars annually on your current water bill. Nowadays, Energy Star appliances and water-saving plumbing systems need less water and less energy to function.
Team that up with programmable time-of-day and on-demand usage for greater savings. Outside, choose water-saving xeriscaping, drip irrigation, and absorbent driveway surfaces like permeable pavers or crushed stone. A rain barrel can supply all your garden-watering needs.
Statistics show, Canadians spend up to 90% of our time indoors. Green homes have better indoor air quality. If you choose formaldehyde-free materials, low or 0 VOC paints, sealants, and finishes, you and your family will all breathe easy. This will make you feel healthier, happier and more productive. More efficient heating, cooling systems and appliances will have an improved indoor and outdoor air quality impact. By creating fewer emissions, your overall carbon footprint will decrease.
Factory-built modular construction is an efficient, cost effective way to build homes. With precision manufacturing, and little waste of materials, your home does not face harsh weather conditions, and is free from mould and water damage. A huge trash bin is often a common fixture at a construction site. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that building waste accounts for about 20 percent of all trash in landfills or about 136 million tons per year. But it doesn’t have to be that way. About 85 percent to 90 percent of those materials can be recycled.
Reduces or eliminates the cost of manufacturing, shipping packaging handling
Have dedicated bins for wood, metal, cardboard/paper, waste
Build your shell by modular.
The federal Government offers a rebate on mortgage insurance loans: CMHC Green Home offers a partial premium refund of up to 25% directly to borrowers who either buy, build or renovate for energy efficiency using CMHC-insured financing: https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca
Government incentives can be found at:
https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/funding-grants-incentives/4943
You can’t manage what you don’t measure!
http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/residential/business/energystar/procurement/programfiles/download.cfm energy use comparison of products
http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/corporate/statistics/neud/dpa/home.cfm energy use statistics