Alberta Homeowner Discusses How She Saves Energy at Home

Published on February 22, 2019

Chelsah Thomas, a homeowner in Central Alberta, recently explained how her net zero home home allows her to save on energy and avoid paying energy bills.

Her home, the Thomas House, was built last year using passive house strategies to ensure that it would be constructed with energy efficiency as a top priority.

Although it has not yet achieved full passive house certification, it remains the first net zero home in Central Alberta to use solar energy and energy efficient construction methods to achieve extremely high levels of energy efficiency.

Thomas explains that her home has been constructed to be able to use sunshine as a way of naturally providing heat, and that it is capable of using solar panels to help the home produce more energy in the summer than it uses.

This means that in the warmer months, Thomas is able to earn credits from her utility provider for producing more energy than she uses, which are sufficient enough to cover the cost of having to pay for some energy in the colder months.

Thomas is registered as an Energy Advisor by Natural Resources Canada, and she has recommended that homeowners should consider installing LED lights, window shading, and to make air sealing improvements in order to help save on energy and lower their utility bills.

She also adds that when buying or renovating a home, homeowners are able to do larger modifications, such as: adding insulation to the walls, floors, and ceilings, or having better insulated windows installed.

Save Energy and Lower Your Utility Bills at Home

If you are looking to lower your home’s energy bills in an affordable and cost-effective manner, then you should consider having a Home Energy Assessment conducted by a Registered Energy Advisor.

After the assessment, the advisor will provide you with not only a complete and in-depth look at your home’s level of energy efficiency, but they will also give you a list of possible upgrades you could make to help your home become more energy efficient and save you money on utility bills.

The list of suggested upgrades are ordered in terms of their cost-effectiveness, meaning you can be certain which upgrade will provide you with the biggest energy and utility bill savings per dollar of your investment. Quite often, a Home Energy Assessment determines that the most cost-effective way for a home to see energy efficiency improvements is through simple and affordable modifications, such as attic insulation improvements or airtightness upgrades.

For Ontario homeowners, a Home Energy Assessment can also help you qualify for up to $5,000 of Union Gas or Enbridge home renovation rebates - including a rebate to help cover the cost of the assessment itself.

Our Registered Energy Advisors are happy to help you determine which strategies for improving your home’s energy efficiency are not only the best fit for your budget and your timeline, but also to help you see the biggest rebate cheque in the mail.

Contact us now - we offer free phone consultations you help you get started!