Last Minute Eco-Friendly Holiday Ideas

It is the season for giving! Here at National Home Services, we were thrilled with the results of our Holiday Toy Drive for SickKids Hospital. During this time of giving, we try our best to remember to be green whenever possible. We are delivering our donations unwrapped but, one of the biggest areas of holiday waste is in packaging and wrapping.

Check out our tips to reduce the amount of packaging and wrapping you use.

• Try out reusable wrapping ideas, like cloth bags, baskets and boxes.
• Recycle your newspapers, brown paper bags or Christmas flyers into wrapping paper.
• Instead of sending Christmas cards, send e-cards to your friends and loved ones.
• Bring your own bags when shopping. Keep them in your purse or car so they are nearby when needed.
• Think about alternative gifts that require no wrapping, like theatre tickets, museum passes, or gift certificates.
• Give homemade gifts like these Gifts in a Jar. Check here for more recipes.

If everyone in Canada wrapped just three gifts in reused paper or gift bags, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 hockey rinks!

Be Bright: Light Smart!

Be bright and light smart this holiday season!

Here at National Home Services, we are big fans of ENERGY STAR qualified products. Did you know ENERGY STAR qualified decorative lights consume 70% less energy than conventional light strands? Updating outdoor holiday lighting to ENERGY STAR LEDs could save you over $50 per year for the average sized household! They also stay cool to the touch, making your lights safer and reducing fire risks. For more information, check out Natural Resource Canada’s Office of Energy Efficiency information on energy efficient lighting. Keep reading for more smart lighting tips:

• Avoid leaving indoor and outdoor decorative lights on all day and night. 

• Put your seasonal lights on a timer to enjoy in the evening and to lower your energy consumption. Not only will you save energy, automatic timers remove the hassle of plugging and unplugging your lights every night. They also make sure you never miss a night and forget to turn on the lights. 

• Set lights to switch on at 7 pm during weekdays to avoid electricity peak hours.

•  Remember to turn off holiday lighting when you leave home for extended periods of time.

• Candles can set a beautiful mood at holiday events and family gatherings. Get creative! Placing mirrors behind a group of candles or underneath a centrepiece reflects the light and creates a warm glow.

With these tips, enjoy an energy-saving holiday season that is merry and bright!

8 Tips to Curb Your Waste

The Holiday season is here! Whether your plans include hosting or traveling, use our 8 tips to curb your waste and your carbon footprint. 

1. Take inventory on the pantry. If you can avoid a trip to the store, you'll save time, fuel and money. 
2. When you've used up an ingredient, make sure to rinse the container and recycle. 
3. If you are cooking the turkey in an aluminum pan, don't throw it away! By clearing it of all food waste and rinsing it out, you may be able to recycle it instead. As always, be sure to check with your city to make sure. 
4. Serve cans of beer without fear. Aluminum is infinitely recyclable and easier to process than glass. Consider making the switch to cans this season. 
5. Pack the freezer with your leftover turkey and fixings instead of throwing away. The fuller the freezer, the more efficient it becomes. Save energy and prevent food waste from heading to the landfill. 
6. Don't want leftover dry goods to go stale? Consider sharing your extra food with the less fortunate this season. Prevent food waste by helping someone in need. Donate to a food bank or shelter. 
7. Holiday traffic is the worst! Spare yourself the trouble and hit the road early. Stop-and-go driving adds wear and tear to your vehicle and the environment. Beat the rush and do them both a favour. 
8. Give the host or hostess a real gift, not extra trash. Wrap presents in recyclable or reusable materials. 

Happy Holidays! Good luck managing your "waste" line this year! 

Indoor Humidity - What is the ideal level for your home?

The humidity level in your home is important for your skin, throat and overall health, but did you know that it is also vital to the health of your home? If the humidity level dips too low, furniture can deteriorate and certain germs will thrive.  What humidity level should you keep in your home for ideal comfort and indoor air quality? 

For optimal comfort and health, studies show that indoor humidity moisture levels should be in the range of 35% to 50%. 

During the winter, the humidity level drops because cold air holds less moisture than warm air. Forced air heating increases dryness because furnaces use combustion to create heat which burns out most of the water vapour from the hot air. To make matters worse, when humidity levels dip the air feels cooler than more humid environments, and we turn up the heat to compensate.

Low humidity causes static electricity, dry skin and hair, increased susceptibility to colds and respiratory illness, and can allow viruses and germs to thrive. Wood floors, furniture and millwork can split and crack. Adding a humidifier to your home can help with these problems. There are three standard methods for adding humidity to your home: 

• Evaporation: Adding moisture to the air is as simple as placing a container of water near a radiator or other air heating system. Leaving wet towels and clothes out to dry is another ways to introduce moisture into the air. This is a very low-tech and low power method, and won't have a big effect on the indoor humidity level. 

• Portable/Room: The most common type of humidifier is a portable one. There are two types: cool mist and warm mist, both of which use a a reservoir to hold water. The pros of portable systems are that they are easy to use, a variety of styles and prices are available, and they can be moved as needed. However, similar to the evaporative method above, control and measure of relative humidity is limited, and the reservoir must be refilled about every 24 hours.

• Whole House: This is the most controllable humidity system. A whole house humidifier is added to a furnace. Vapour is distributed directly into the heated air and circulated throughout the house via the furnace duct system. Humidity levels are controlled via a humidistat, and the method has the greatest humidification capacity and is most consistent.

FIve Savings Tips for Your Heating Bill

You don't have to suffer the cold to save on your heating bill. Try our 5 tips to save on your heating bill, be more energy efficient, and stay cozy and comfortable at the same time. 

1. Use a programmable thermostat. We've talked about thermostats before. Click HERE to read more. Program your thermostat to match your schedule. To maximize savings without sacrificing comfort, program the thermostat to lower the heat by 5ºC or more when you are away from home and save about $180 per year! 
2. Insulate and seal leaks. Use caulk, spray foam and weather striping to insulate against winter heat loss. Check out our tips HERE and HERE. Install a door sweep to seal the gap between the bottom of the door and the frame to stop your warm air from escaping. 
3. Check your system's wire filter every month. If it's dirty, change it. Dirt and neglect are the top causes of heating system failure and a dirty filter makes your furnace work harder, wasting energy. 
4. Use a space heater. Radiant heaters direct exactly where you want it. Warm your immediate surroundings and turn down the temperature on your thermostat to cut your energy usage. 
5. If your system is more than 10 years old, consider replacing it with a newer, more efficient ENERGY STAR certified model. Learn more about energy efficient furnaces HERE. 

Top 3 Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

Last week we covered what your carbon footprint is and how to calculate it. (Read that post here). Today we'll go over our top 3 ways to reduce your carbon footprint.

1. Transportation accounts for a big portion of your  carbon footprint. Try to take the most energy efficient methods of travel whenever possible: biking, walking, or carpooling.
2. Home energy use is the next largest portion of your carbon footprint. Try setting your thermostat at a moderate temperature to lower energy costs. Better yet, install a smart thermostat like the SmartStat. The SmartStat pays attention to how you consume energy while factoring in the size of your home, number of occupants and type of HVAC system you use to maximize your energy efficiency.
3. Choose energy efficient appliances for your home. There are many resources to help you learn more about energy efficient home products. Check the Energy Star in Canada website  or read more about energy efficient home home equipment here. A more energy efficient home will lower your utility bills and reduce the emissions that cause climate change.

What is Your Carbon Footprint?

Our daily activities such as driving back and forth to work, using heat, and the consumption of food and goods causes many polluting gases to be emitted into the atmosphere. For simplicity, these gases are usually referred to in terms of the amount of carbon dioxide produced.

Your carbon footprint is the measure of the total amount of carbon dioxide you produce through these normal daily activities. These harmful emissions contribute to climate change. People concerned about the environment and global warming can try to reduce their carbon footprint by increasing their energy efficiency.

A great way to start is to take stock and calculate your current carbon footprint. Once you know the size of your carbon footprint, you can begin thinking about strategies to reduce or offset it. Just Energy offers a free carbon calculator for individuals, households or companies. Take a look here to find out your carbon footprint: Carbon Calculator.

In our next post, we'll take a look at the top 3 ways to change your habits and reduce your carbon footprint.