Home Energy 101
Resources to help make your home more energy efficient.
This page contains educational resources to help you make your home more energy efficient. Through small changes, you can reduce your home’s energy footprint. Whether you live in an apartment, condominium or house, there are things you can do to help lower your carbon footprint.
The resources below are designed to help you make informed decisions. If you are looking for a contractor to help with your home energy efficiency journey, check out our Contractors List as a starting point.
Building Envelope
Air Sealing and Insulation
Videos
Blog Posts
Insulation and a Heat Pump: A Climate Change Fighting Duo
How do you cut a home’s emissions in half? Keith and Arli tackled this challenge with their Kitchener home. They had a big challenge: their
How to insulate your basement
This is Lesson 4 of our informal online course: Home Energy 101. All lessons by Philip Drader. After you’ve resolved any moisture issues in your basement, you can
Preparing your attic for insulation
Lesson 2 of an informal online course: Home Energy 101. by Philip Drader. In this lesson, we’re going to talk about preparing your attic for insulation.
Resources
Windows and Doors
Blog Posts
Summer Heat Heroes: An Ode to the Awning
Blog post by Brianna O’Brien On hot summer days, air conditioning can account for roughly one-third of electricity use in Ontario. But did you know
How to make good window choices
This is Lesson 6 of our informal online course: Home Energy 101. All lessons by Philip Drader. In this lesson, we’ll take a look at windows. If you
Resources
Mechanical Equipment
Heat Pumps
Videos
Blog Posts
Getting My Home to Net Zero: Part 2
Even greater comfort plus amazing energy and greenhouse gas emissions savings with a cold climate heat pump Our household is on a mission to cut
Getting My Home to Net Zero: Part 1
The goal is a net zero energy home: a home in which annual renewable energy from rooftop solar panels can offset our total annual energy use for all operations in the home.
Could my home go net zero?
Written by Heather McDiarmid The Bottom Line: The climate crisis threatens the future well-being of my kids Waterloo Region has committed to reducing greenhouse gas
Resources
Renewables
Solar Panels
Videos
Blog Posts
Homeowner Sustainable Journey Spotlight: Anne and Andy
“We chose Reep because it is an ethically driven organization which cares about our environment and was not out to “sell us” anything but a
Why Choose Solar? The Reasons to Solar Power Your Home
When considering energy solutions for your home, solar power is a popular option that is practical and requires very little space to operate in comparison
Generate your home’s electricity with solar energy
This is Lesson 11 of our informal online course: Home Energy 101. All lessons by Philip Drader. In all our previous lessons, we looked at how to reduce
Resources
Energy Star Appliances
Blog Posts
10 Energy Efficiency Ideas for Tenants
Saving energy can be tough when you don’t have the ability to make big changes to your home. Tenants may be stuck with a rickety
5 Reasons Why I Love My Induction Cook top | Home Energy Story
It all started when my husband borrowed a portable induction cooker to try out in our kitchen. I admit, the explanation of how it works
How your day to day actions can save energy
This is Lesson 12 of our informal online course: Home Energy 101. All lessons by Philip Drader. There are three main resources we use whose consumption is fairly regular:
How to conserve electricity use by lights, appliances and air conditioners
This is Lesson 10 of our informal online course: Home Energy 101. All lessons by Philip Drader. Our focus in this post is on how we use electricity
Resources
Water Efficiency
Videos
Blog Posts
Heating and using hot water more efficiently
This is Lesson 8 of our informal online course: Home Energy 101. All lessons by Philip Drader. There are lots of uses for hot water in the home.
Resources
Other Resources
Incentives for Your Home
Find out which programs you may qualify for to help make your upgrades more affordable.
Your Carbon Footprint
Use Project Neutral to measure your carbon footprint and discover ways to live more sustainably.
Reep House
Sustainable technology is on display at our renovated century home. Explore online or request a tour!
Contractors List
Looking for contractors for your renovation project? Our list of local businesses is a great starting point!
Home Energy Evaluation
Get advice on sustainable upgrades that will lower utility bills, increase home comfort and fight climate change.
Research and Reports
Do you want to take a deeper dive on sustainability issues? Check out our research and reports.
