How Your Windows Affect Your Energy Costs

Who doesn’t want to save money on their energy bill? These days it’s become a cliché for a family household to have a vigilant father guarding the thermostat. Anyone who heads down to turn the temperature up on a cold night will find themselves face-to-face with a determined father ready to turn the thermostat back down again.

It can cost a lot to heat a home, especially in the cold climate of Canada. Let’s take a look at how important windows can be in regulating a home’s temperature and what you can do to keep your energy costs low.

Canadian Energy Costs: A Summary

If you’re looking at custom windows and doors in London On and the surrounding area, you’re likely going to be considering things like insulation levels and energy efficiency.  From a national perspective, it’s worth pointing out that energy costs have been rising steadily since the end of the twentieth century.

Canadian energy prices included in the consumer price index (CPI) more than doubled over the period of time spanning between 1994 and 2013 according to Statistics Canada. This increase exceeds growth in disposable income and the rate at which residential energy intensity is declining, which simply put means that there is an accessibility issue with energy in the country.

Compared to much of the world, Canada has relatively low energy costs. According to data compiled by the OECD (2013), households in European countries face much higher costs for electricity, oil, and natural gas than do Canadian households.

A large part of this difference comes from wide variances in the taxes that governments choose to levy on energy goods and, in the case of many European countries, these high taxes are used to subsidize increases in renewable energy production. So, it’s worth bearing in mind that while we are likely always going to find a reason to complain about the price of heating and cooling a home in Canada, we’ve got things relatively good compared to other developed parts of the world.

Energy Star

One way to ensure that the window and door products you use are energy efficient and approved by regulatory environmental bodies. You can do this by shopping at vendors that are partners with the Energy Star brand, a gold standard in environmental efficiency and insulation. For products and installation services to qualify for the Energy Star designation, they have to meet certain strict criteria about the materials used and their properties.

Window Tips

You can also perform some easy, DIY home improvements that can really make a difference in the long run. Start out by making these improvements to your windows before you actually go ahead and do a whole installation or replacement. For one, you can keep window coverings drawn on hot days to prevent the rays of sun from heating the home.

You can also go and check the caulking around your windows and fill the trim with a new caulking or weather-stripping to prevent air loss. One final thing that you can do is to add window film, an inexpensive plastic sealing, to your windows during the cold winter months. These sheets provide an extra seal for a window and can improve the overall insulation of your home. Your windows play a big role in lowering your energy bill, so make sure that you’re doing your best to keep your windows in good shape.

Reduce Energy Usage Heating Water

Homes in colder climates use a lot of energy, and heating water is often one of the biggest culprits of energy waste. Traditional hot water tanks can run day and night, constantly using energy to heat a large drum of water regardless of usage amount. Tankless hot water heaters are much more common in Europe than they are in North America, but these devices are not new by any means.

Upgrading to a new tankless hot water heater can help cover the costs of the upgrades in a few years, especially if you use a lot of water or have several people living in the same house. Look online to find an energy efficient tankless water heater and you’ll be enjoying an endless supply of hot water, while saving money!

There’s lots of options when it comes to reducing your energy costs, and remember that investments in your home are home than just financial choices.