Energy Conservation
Energy Saving Tips for Your Home
Whether greenhouse gas emissions result from your transportation or from your home, you can reduce them by making simple changes to your lifestyle that help to conserve energy. The first step is to reduce the energy used by your car; replace it with a more efficient hybrid or electric vehicle, or take advantage of other green modes of transportation. It might seem inconvenient at first, but it will quickly become part of your routine and it will have a tremendous impact on your energy use and your carbon footprint.More than anything, conserving energy is about making subtle changes to the way you live your life in an effort to reduce your environmental impact. Repeatedly performing a task as simple as turning off a light when you’re done using it is an easy way to turn it in to a habit. Once conserving energy becomes a habit, you will barely notice that you are doing it, but the impacts of your actions are much more substantial than you could easily quantify. The best part is, while you’re providing an incredible service to your planet, you’ll also be saving money!
Conserving energy in your day-to-day life is so important and so easy that multiple institutions and organizations offer tips and tricks to help people save. That advice can be found below:
- 21 electricity saving tips from BC Hydro
- Energy saving tips from Fortis BC
- Energy saving tips from the US Department of Energy
Replacing older household appliances with modern, energy efficient models is another good way to reduce the energy that your house consumes. Energy Star and other energy efficient products can reduce the amount of energy needed to complete everyday tasks, like washing clothes or refrigerating food. You can use a cost calculator from BC Hydro or The Home Depot to determine how much energy and money will be saved by your upgrades.
For families who might face financial challenges when looking to save money by conserving energy, BC Hydro and FortisBC are now jointly offering free energy saving kits for low-income households.
Families facing cultural challenges or language barriers to conserving energy should consider registering for the Empower Me program. The program pairs households who need help understanding how to make their home more comfortable and energy efficient with a mentor who speaks their language and understands the challenges they face. It fosters social connectivity, helps people save money, and allows everyone to live their lives more sustainably.
Energy Saving Tips for Your Business
Like our homes, our businesses can use large amounts of energy, and finding ways to conserve it can have a strong environmental impact. BC Hydro’s website is an excellent resource for saving energy at your business, as they offer both basic energy efficiency information and sector-specific strategies for saving on your bills. Fortis BC also helps facilitate energy conservation by offering tips and sharing successful strategies employed by other business throughout the province.If you’re looking for professional help to save energy, consider contracting an energy management company to help guide you through the process. BC Hydro’s Alliance of Energy Professionals is also available to help your business conserve energy and save money. Beyond energy conservation, you can green your workplace to make it more sustainable. You can also find green business resources from the federal government’s Canada Business Network website.
One of the best methods of making your business more sustainable is to begin accounting for the greenhouse gases that are emitted though your operations. Carbon accounting is a good sustainability strategy as it helps businesses identify where their emissions are coming from and what can be done to help reduce them. This can be done online or through a third-party accounting firm.
Once you have determined the carbon footprint of your business operations, reducing the impact of your energy consumption is an excellent way to make your business more sustainable. While it might not be possible to outfit your organization with a renewable energy system, it is possible to purchase green energy from Bullfrog Power. Customers of Fortis BC are also able to purchase renewable natural gas, a sustainable, locally-produced energy source.