If you are handy, you can do some of the upgrades yourself!

Here is a list of things that many homeowners can do themselves, to save even more by doing your own labour.

• Air sealing
• Add attic Insulation
• Insulate your basement walls
• Insulate your basement header area
• Add exterior insulation if replacing siding
• Replace existing toilets with low flush models
• Add insulation to your crawl spaces
• Install programmable thermostats for electric baseboard heaters
• Add an insulation blanket to your hot water heater
• Add timers for your bathroom fans
• Add fans and timer switches to bathrooms that have no fan ventilation. This will improve the indoor air quality, while minimizing electricity costs that occurs when a fan is forgotten in the on position.

How do I do some of these steps?

When I do the audit, I provide you with a package of information. Included in this package is a great book "Keeping the Heat In" that informs you how to do many of these upgrade tasks. It also discusses upgrades that you may need to hire a qualified tradesman to do for you.

Manitoba Hydro has published a nice set of booklets called Power Smart guides. These are available online as PDF files. For example the one on basement and crawl space insulation is found at http://www.hydro.mb.ca/your_home/home_comfort/2_basement_crawlspace.pdf There are a total of 9 guides in this series.

Start with the air sealing. This only requires a caulking gun and a few tubes of sealant, and some spare time. The payback is reduced heat losses, less drafts on cold winter days and a reduction in your heating bills.

Next add attic insulation if this is recommended. This can be a safe DIY job if you dress appropriately and wear a mask and eye protection. It is not rocket science. You can add batts, or blow in the insulation with a machine intended for DIY use, and may be rented free with the purchase of the insulation. However this becomes a two person job.

If you can build a 2x4 wall, then consider insulating the unfinished part of your basement. In the long term this will provide a significant cost saving each year, as an unfinished basement can be a large portion of a house's heat loss. At the same time insulate the header area. The "Keeping the Heat In" book will show you how to do both of these tasks. Note: if you have spray foam insulation applied to insulate your basement, it must be covered by an interior finish such as drywall, plywood, or ciment board to meet the Ontario building code. An alternative is a sprayed on fire retardant coating.

Replacing the toilet is not hard, if it has a flexible water supply connection to the tank, and a shutoff valve inline with the toilet water supply. You will need a wax toilet seal kit as well. If the toilet does not mount onto a standard flange in good condition, then you may need to call for help. (If cast iron waste plumbing is present or leading from the toilet, then this is not a typical DIY job.) If the toilet bolts are 10" away from the wall, then be careful and note that nearly all low flush toilets use the more modern standard of 12" bolt center to the wall at the rear. There are 10" bolt pattern low flush toilets available, but they are considerably more expensive.

Depending on your skill level, you can make some changes to reduce energy costs due to time of day electricity pricing. You can also purchase a kit to permit indoor monitoring of your real time power consumption, using a sleve that fits on the side of your smart meter, and has a wireless indoor remote so that you can conveniently monitor your usage, and use this feedback to reduce your consumption. We can sell you such a kit, or even install it for you if you wish.