Winter clothes for your home.

The heating season is here. Even on the mild west coast, the evening chill in the air tells us that the season of sleeping with open windows is over, and it is time to pull the thick comforter out. But when you dig through the closet for your sweaters and wool socks, maybe think about what your home is going to wear this winter.

The simplest way to improve the efficiency of your home is to locate and block drafts. To find drafts, turn off your furnace and walk around your house with a smoldering incense stick. Some sources of drafts will be obvious (those old ill-fitting single-pane windows!), others will be surprising (light or switch sockets, the seam between the floor and the drywall, under your sink where the pipes go into the wall). And it isn’t just houses that have these hidden heat-sappers: condo and apartment owners are just as susceptible to drafty walls, especially at gaps in the drywall around pipes and sockets. 

The solutions are often surprisingly inexpensive: silicone caulking for seams, rubber or plastic gaskets for behind electrical outlet plates, weather-stripping for windows and a sweep for under your door. And the money you spend making your home more efficient may even be tax-deductable! Even if you run a high-efficiency furnace, the potential savings from these simple D.I.Y. projects can pay for your materials in a single monthly gas or electric bill. The best time to do it is now, before the heating season really kicks in, to maximize your savings. You and your home can both enjoy a cozy winter.

For more info:
Home Renovation Tax Credit (http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/hrtc/)
The Federal Government Energy Efficiency info page: (http://oee.rncan.gc.ca/publications/infosource/home/index.cfm?attr=0)