ECO-FRIENDLY TIPS TO REDUCE EMISSIONS AND COSTS IN HOMES: space-heating and insulation

While installing a hybrid system at home is the best solution to reduce emissions it's important to make sure your home is well insulated and take care of leaks to save costs and prevent energy loss.

There are many tips to reduce heating costs but we'll be looking at the main Eco-friendly options.

Wall insulation

Insulation is essential in homes to be able to contain the heat or to stay cool. It prevents leaks, and the better a home is insulated the less it will cost to heat or cool the space. There is a demand for naturally insulating materials instead of poly-derived materials in construction, such as cork, cellulose, wood wool fiberglass or cotton as they are more eco-friendly and safer (Bozsaky, 2019). Eco-friendly insulation is slightly more expensive but it's available at your local Home Depot for example.

Electric flooring

Electric Heated flooring is an option to keep the entire home warm or even just a few rooms, but can only be done when renovating or building a new home. Heating prices are minimised since electric floor heating systems use a lower temperature than traditional forced-air systems or baseboards. (Warmup, 2021) Since the heat supply is dispersed across the floor, it is more uniformly distributed, and heated floors have way higher degrees of comfort. Electric floor heating systems have a modest initial installation cost and no ongoing maintenance needs.

Insulated windows

Paying a little more to have well insulated windows is a must when choosing windows and reduces heating costs. (NRCan, 2021) Well insulated windows can absorb UV energy to keep the house warm and in the summer they deflect sun rays. Also, as a bonus they provides some privacy since they look slightly tinted from the outside.