Corey Pierce

The average home size has grown from just over 72 square metres (800 square feet) in 1945 to close to 180 square metres (2,000 square feet) today in Calgary, according to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). Our city’s sprawling boundaries are being populated for the most part by detached, energy-consuming houses that, in the doldrums of winter, demand considerable space heating. The problem, above and beyond the steady appetite for large, detached, suburban houses, is that we are not using the most efficient technologies available to heat our houses, thereby only intensifying the effects of our energy consumption demands.

Home Heating Technologies

Geothermal is the most efficient heating and cooling technology. By taking advantage of the Earth’s natural ground temperatures to provide heat for the winter and cooling for the summer, this technology uses around 60 per cent less energy than conventional systems. It works via a system of looped underground water pipes to transfer heat from the Earth below. In the summer, because the temperature below ground is lower than above ground, the system cools the air in the building above.

According to Craig Dunn of the Canadian Geothermal Energy Association, less than one per cent of the energy consumed on the planet is geothermal. “It's a completely untapped resource,” he says. “The fact that we don't use geothermal is a total waste of energy.” Installing a geothermal system to a typical Calgary house will cost approximately $20,000 or more.

Typical natural gas furnaces, delivering conventional forced air heating, run anywhere from 65 to 96 per cent efficiency. Standard efficiency natural gas furnaces are no longer sold in Canada, but they can be found in many older homes. Unfortunately, even in new developments, high-efficiency furnaces are generally an optional and added expense. Efficiency ranges between 78 and 96 per cent, depending on the development and the builder. Building codes do not require builders to use the most efficient technology available.

Radiant in-floor heating systems are more energy-efficient than conventional forced air by 10 to 30 per cent. With radiant heating, the floor becomes one large surface that constantly radiates warmth. Such systems are not standard. Some builders, though, like Windmill Developments, the builder of two Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified, eco-focused townhouse complexes in Bridgeland, used in-floor heating for all the project’s units as a selling feature.

Quick Fixes

Unfortunately, the most energy-efficient products are only available to those who can afford the initial capital expenditures. In the meantime, the rest of us can take some simple steps to tighten up our living spaces. Installing weather stripping or plastic wrapping on drafty doors and windows and using foam insulation to fill gaps around chimneys, electrical outlets, ducts, air vents and phone and cable entry points can increase heating efficiency up to 10 per cent. Clean or replace your furnace filter every month or two, insulate against the cold by using window coverings at night, and use a programmable thermostat to lower temperatures while you’re sleeping or away.

If you’re in the financial position to increase your insulation, replace windows or do other retrofitting, get a home-energy audit first. Retailers like Atco EnergySense will be able to line you up with potential government incentives for your renovations.

Lifestyle Choices

A paradigm shift is desperately needed in Calgary, more so than most other Canadian cities. We have a larger ecological footprint than all of our provincial neighbours.

Challenge yourself to think about these three lifestyle choices in order to have an impact on your home heating costs and the greenhouse gas emissions being created to keep you toasty warm this winter.

• Dress like a Canadian. Adjusting your thermostat by one or two degrees can save you around five per cent on your heating costs. Turning the heat down another three degrees or so at night while using flannel sheets can increase savings as well.

Reject the notion that bigger is better. Choose a smaller home or a multi-family unit. A detached home will lose 20 per cent more heat than a semi-detached one and 50 per cent more than a middle home in a row of townhouses. You likely don’t need a dedicated crafts room, a home theatre and a walk-in closet just for your shoe collection — downsize your stuff and your living space requirements.

• Redefine home makeover. While a flashy new plasma, flat-panel television will surely impress the boys come playoffs, consider more practical investments for your home. Changing furniture, countertops and paint may be esthetically pleasing, but new windows, insulation and a high-efficiency furnace will add value to your home and save you money on your utility bills.