Since 2007, Clean Foundation has been doing Home Energy Assessments in Nova Scotia helping homeowners across the province understand how to heat their homes more efficiently and save money through smart energy upgrades. More recently, we’ve started offering the same service to homeowners in Prince Edward Island.

Over the years Clean’s energy team has learned a lot about the various characteristics of the homes found in Nova Scotia and PEI. We asked the team for their top efficiency tips and tricks.

Common energy efficiency problems and solutions

As a Senior Residential Energy Consultant at Clean, Steve Fairbairn has performed a lot of home energy assessments over the years. He notes one key problem that doesn’t just affect energy efficiency, but it impacts affordability as well.

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Some of the options to reduce a homeowner’s reliance on fossil fuels include:

• • installing efficient electric options like heat pumps; and
  • improving a home’s insulation, upgrading windows and draft proofing.

What’s an energy efficiency misconception?

While adding a heat pump (or more than one) to your home can help reduce your reliance on oil or wood to heat your home, or help you get off it entirely, it’s just one part of the energy efficiency solution.

“Some homeowners have the misconception that by installing a mini split heat pump or central heat pump system that it is going to solve all of their efficiency needs,” said Mike McKay, Clean’s Manager of Energy Programs. “But really that’s just part of the equation.”

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