According to a recent Global News report, a whopping half of all Canadians say they are facing retirement without sufficient savings to actually retire.
The truth is, saving money is just increasingly challenging today. First of all, there is so much more we can spend our money on! Plus, practically no worker these days stays at the same job for their whole career, which reduces the ability to maximize employer-sponsored retirement savings plans. But mostly, everything is just so expensive!
Luckily, there are still many ways to control energy costs. With the development of solar energy panels, energy-efficient appliances, and programmable thermostats, you have an expanded menu of affordable energy options.
If you are like many Canadians, you are just about to spend the majority of your annual energy budget on one thing: heating your home. So we thought this would be the perfect time to share news about recent incentives, rebates, and tips that can help you lower your energy costs!
Save Money on Furnace & Water Heater Operation
According to Moneysense, we sure do love our warmth. Warm homes, warm offices, warm water, warm everything… but we often end up paying through the nose for the privilege.
Save up to 40 percent on energy this winter with these tips:
- Change your furnace filter. Be sure to change your filter before you start using it this year. Then change it as often as every 30 days thereafter during high-use months.
- Have your furnace inspected. Want to avoid a home fire this winter? Now is the time to have your furnace inspected for safety as well as functionality.
- Fit your hot water heater with a heater blanket. Pay $25-$50 to save $150 annually —that works out to $100 in annual savings.
- Set your water heater temperature to 120°F (49°C). If you can get away with setting it even lower, you can save an extra 5 percent per temperature point reduction.
- Insulate your pipes (HVAC, hot water). A few bucks on insulation wraps can keep the warm air in to make sure you get 100 percent of the energy benefits you are paying for.
- Consider replacement if your appliances are more than a decade old. A furnace or water heater that is well past its prime can’t hope to compete with new energy-efficient versions. You can save up to 20 percent per year on energy costs by making the upgrade.
- Plug all open holes. This includes removing and/or insulating and sealing up spaces where window units and portable HVAC units sit during the warm months, using inserts to keep cold air from coming in through the chimney, and reapplying weather stripping as needed to seal up air cracks and leaks.
Save with Ontario Energy Efficiency Incentives and Rebates
Ontario has a great program called Save on Energy that features Energy Star-certified appliances. Each of these options is available:
- Print out coupons. Access valuable money-saving coupons for everything from energy-efficient light bulbs to light fixtures, weather stripping supplies, timers, programmable thermostats, water heater blankets, and much more.
- Enroll in the peaksaver PLUS program. This program helps you control your energy costs by managing when you run your appliances. You can enroll one or more appliances in the program.
- Choose your incentives and rebates. You can choose from a menu of incentives and rebates worth up to $650 that are guaranteed to save you at least $325 per year on energy usage.
How Shipton’s Heating & Cooling Can Help You Save Even More
Here at Shipton’s Heating & Cooling, we have nearly a century invested in helping our customers in the Hamilton and surrounding areas get the most use out of their HVAC appliances. Our goal is to help you achieve the most comfort for the least investment and energy cost. We are particularly passionate about the new generation of energy-efficient appliances and fixtures, both because they can save you more of your hard-earned cash and because they are helping all of us work together to preserve our planet.
Here are just some of the many great ways we can help you save on energy costs this winter and all year round:
- Schedule your inspection and maintenance service call. When we come out to inspect your furnace and HVAC unit, we look for anything and everything that might go wrong. We check to be sure all of the connections are secure and functioning and make recommendations for minor repairs or part replacements to maximize efficiency. Our goal is to make sure you never have to call us for an emergency repair in the dead of winter (or the heat of summer, either)!
- Talk to us about upgrading to energy-efficient appliances. Not only will the new Energy Star-certified appliances save you up to 20 percent annually on energy costs, but we will install them properly so you maximize the return on your investment (nearly half of all energy-efficient appliances are installed improperly, which reduces energy savings up to 30 percent).
- Sign up for our energy savings protection plans. With the protection of our energy savings plans, you can save up to 20 percent on repairs, never pay overtime charges, receive flat-rate discounted pricing on labour and repairs and—best of all—enjoy maximum energy savings and efficiency from having regular inspections and maintenance service for your appliances.
- Consult with us when planning new home or commercial construction. We offer expert consultation and service for new home or commercial construction that includes the proper equipment size for the space, the optimal type of cooling and heating equipment for the space, warranty and installation recommendations, and other services as requested.
