Learn more about technology, techniques, and renovations that help make your home better for your family, your wallet, and the environment.
Heating and Cooling
Space heating accounts for 60% of the energy used in the average Canadian home. For propane, oil, and electrically heated homes, you may be able to reduce your heating costs by up to 50 per cent if you install an heat pump while also reducing GHGs.
Heat Pumps | Air Source |
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Space heating accounts for 60% of the energy used in the average Canadian home. For propane, oil, and electrically heated homes, you may be able to reduce your heating costs by up to 50 per cent if you install an all-electric air-source heat pump while also reducing GHGs. An air-source heat pump is an electrical device that uses the difference between outdoor air temperatures and indoor air temperatures to cool and heat your home. Acting as a high-efficiency air conditioner in the summer, and a heater in the winter, an air-source heat pump uses a refrigerant that responds to temperature. In summer, a heat pump will move heat out of your home and release it outdoors. In fall, it brings heat into your home from outside, even when it’s chilly (0°C). Many homes can rely on these products to heat or cool their homes year-round. Things to Consider
Cost
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Heat Pumps | Ground Source |
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Ground-source heat pumps, also known as geothermal heat pumps, use the earth, groundwater or both to heat your home in the winter and cool it in the summer, and supply hot water. Ground-source heat pumps are more effective at heating homes during Canadian winters and provide greater energy savings than air-source heat pumps because in the winter underground temperatures are higher than air temperatures. Ground source heating produce less CO2 than other forms of space heating systems. Things to Consider
Cost
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Heat Pumps | Ductless Mini-Split |
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A ductless mini-split system is an energy-efficient heating and cooling system that doesn’t require ductwork, making them ideal for older electrically-heated homes and/or homes with no ductwork. Also known as ductless heat pumps, they take advantage of the difference in temperature between outdoor and indoor air to heat or cool a room. The temperature can be adjusted through a wall-mounted console, remote control or smartphone app. Ductless units require only a very small hole to be drilled into an exterior wall, making them less vulnerable to air leakage and security problems. Mini-splits also avoid the energy losses associated with ductwork, which can account for more than 30 per cent of the energy used to heat or cool indoor air. Things to Consider
Cost
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Air Flow
Air sealing is one of the most affordable and easy ways to improve the energy efficiency of a home. It’s the single most important thing you can do improve the energy efficiency of your home and should be the first step of any retrofit project. You can save up to 30 per cent of your energy costs by air sealing areas where energy loss occurs.
Air Sealing |
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Air sealing impacts the building envelop of your home. The building envelop is the physical separator between the conditioned and unconditioned environment, including the resistance to air, water, heat, light, and noise transfer. Older homes typically have more air leaks, around windows and doors, electrical outlets, and cracks in the foundation and walls. You can seal air leaks in your home with weather-stripping and caulking or by applying gaskets and tapes. Things to Consider
Cost$200 – $1,500 |
Webinar: Learn About Home Energy Retrofits
The City of Burlington’s Better Homes Burlington team hosted a series of free, one-hour webinars to walk homeowners through the process of switching to an air-source heat pump, and applying for available financial incentive programs. This recording is from the October 23rd session co-presented by staff from The Atmospheric Fund
Looking for more resources?
Check out these resources for more information on different ways to retrofit your homes to be more energy efficient:
- BurlingtonGreen offers home energy saving tips and home retrofitting information
- SaveOnEnergy offers home energy saving advice for individuals and retrofitting programs and energy efficiency incentives for businesses
- Natural Resources Canada offers home retrofitting programs, energy efficiency resources and the Canada Greener Homes Grant
- BetterHomesTO offers home retrofitting information, although Burlington residents don’t qualify for their home energy loan program
- The Sustainable Technologies Evaluation Program (STEP) Smarter Home Heating page offers tutorials, webinar recordings, case studies, and video testimonials of homeowner’s experiences switching to air-source heat pumps
- The Canadian Climate Institute offers an interactive heat pump calculator to help you compare the cost of heat pumps to other home heating and cooling options across Canada.
Contact
For assistance contact the Better Homes Burlington Coordinator or call 905-335-7777, ext. 7974.