It has been a cold Canadian winter and no doubt you’ve seen your energy bills be quite high for the past three months. With an average expense of $200-300 per month for electricity and gas in Milton, have you ever wondered how to reduce your energy use and save some money? By making your home more energy efficient and future proof, not only will you reduce your energy bills but you’ll be helping to save the planet too.
Since 2000, over 36,000 thousand new homes have been built in Milton, taking it from a town of 32,000 in 1991 to 132,000 in 2021. Many of the houses built during the 90s and early 2000s were built prior to the higher insulation and air leakage standards required by today’s building code. In fact, many of those new houses use more energy than even some of the uninsulated historic homes in our old downtown core. In order to improve the energy use and reduce your energy bills you can take steps to replace your furnace with a heat pump, replace your leaky windows with new better windows, add insulation to your basement and your roof, install new solar panels, and more.
Flooding is a threat in the Milton area. We live on a significant watershed flowing into Lake Ontario. Every new asphalt road or driveway, every new car parking area, reduces the amount of surface area available to absorb rainwater. The Region of Halton and the Town of Milton have in the past years implemented several initiatives to flood proof existing properties by adding backflow preventers and making better ways to channel stormwater to drains. By using alternative materials to asphalt and concrete, and by creating a rain garden, you can improve your chances of not flooding your basement and use less water from the tap.
Come and learn all about the options you have to improve your house and your property at the “Future House” event hosted by Sustainable Milton, and listen to interesting speakers throughout the day on Saturday, March 29 at the Milton Sports Centre. www.sustainablemilton.ca/future-house
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