Home Energy Efficiency Improvement Guide

In today's world, energy efficiency is more important than ever, and the majority of energy consumption typically happens at home. From turning off a light bulb to installing state-of-the-art solar panels, there is an endless array of options available to help homeowners and renters increase the energy efficiency of their homes. It doesn't matter if you are living in a small downtown apartment, in a single family home in the suburbs or on a large rural estate — you can find small or large ways to reduce your home's energy consumption and potentially reduce your electricity, gas or water bills.

The purpose of this resource guide is to provide insight and practical steps to help you improve outdated areas of your home that might be wasting energy and also making your energy bills higher. To guide you on this energy efficiency journey, we have divided this guide into three sections:

Section 1: Energy-Saving Quick Fixes — Here you can find tips on the quickest and easiest home improvement projects to increase the energy efficiency of your home.
Section 2: Weekend Projects — These tips take a bit more time and money but could provide an even bigger increase in energy savings.
Section 3: Energy-Saving Appliances and Major Projects — If you are ready for a greater investment of money and time, this section can help you complete larger projects or decide which outdated appliances to replace with more energy efficient ones. We provide guidance on the best options to choose from.

Within each section, there are several energy-saving tips and to help you better prioritize where you want to spend your time, and we have included icons next to each tip to denote the difficulty of the project, the cost to execute the project and the energy savings you will get in return. Use the legend below to decide which projects have the right mix of difficulty, cost and energy savings for you.