GREENHOUSE GAS MISER ACTIONS

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Be a Greenhouse Gas Miser at Home!

2. Home Heating and Cooling
a) thermal envelope improvement
b) draftproof and insulate
c) windows and doors
d) plant trees
e) temperature setting
f) heating systems
g) summer cooling

3. Water Heating
a) energy efficient showerheads
b) washing clothes
c) water heating systems

4. Appliances

5. Lighting

6. Waste Reduction

a) reduce, reuse & recycle
b) compost

Be a Greenhouse Gas Miser on the Road!

7. Transportation Modes
a) walk or ride a bike
b) mass transit
c) carpool

8. The Automobile
a) buying a new car
b) maintenance
c) driving habits

Be a Greenhouse Gas Miser at Work!

9. Office Building
a) energy audit
b) heating
c) motors

10. Work Station
a) lighting
b) waste reduction
c) office equipment
d) purchasing

11. Work Related Travel
a) alternative transportation
b) parking
c) vehicle requisition
d) business travel

Be a Greenhouse Gas Miser in Your Community!

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Be a Greenhouse Gas Miser at Home!

1. Selecting a Home

When it comes to buying or renting a home, greenhouse gas emissions per household vary according to the housing type, housing location and the energy efficiency of the building.

Housing Type

Apartments typically require about two thirds less total energy per unit than single and semi-detached houses due to their lower heating requirements. Row houses use one quarter less energy compared to detached houses. In addition, the smaller the floor space, the lower the energy consumption and the greater the number of persons in the household the lower the per capita energy use.

Housing Location

Consider living close to work, school and activities. It can greatly reduce your need for daily commuting. Also, look for locations with good access to public transit.

Energy Efficiency

When buying a house, ask about the energy efficiency of the house. Look for homes with a R-2000 home identification certificate. R-2000 is an energy efficiency standard for new homes under a voluntary government-industry program. It consists of an integrated package of upgrades including high insulation levels, air tightness, heat recovery ventilation and efficient heating systems. As a result, R-2000 homes use only two thirds the energy of a conventionally built home.

Even more efficient is the Advanced House built in Brampton, Ontario, as a demonstration project. It uses about a quarter of the energy of a traditional house. The Advanced House features high-performance windows, a two-storey passive-solar sun space, an integrated mechanical system with a heat pump that recovers heat from grey water, ventilation exhaust and excess solar gains, a thermal storage system, energy efficient appliances, and all-fluorescent lighting.

As shown in the figure below, compared to typical housing, the R-2000 and Advanced houses emit 32%-73% less carbon dioxide. Over time energy efficient homes save money too with lower operating costs offsetting higher capital costs.

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2. Home Heating and Cooling

Space heating on average consumes about two thirds of our home energy use and accounts for about 5 metric tons of CO2 emissions per household each year. This makes space heating a great place to start being a greenhouse gas miser.

Thermal Envelope Improvement

Draftproof and Insulate

Insulate the attic, basement and walls. Insulation is rated according to its thermal resistance value, called the RSI value (or R-value in Imperial units), which measures a material's ability to resist heat flow. The higher the RSI value, the better the material insulates. The minimum RSI insulation levels recommended for the retrofit of existing homes vary according to geographical location.

Geographical Zones

		Zones

walls

         A         B         C         D

RSI  3.0       3.6       4.1       4.5 

R      17        20        23        13

basement walls

         A         B         C         D

RSI  2.2       2.2       2.2       2.2

R      13        13        13        13

roof or ceiling          

         A         B         C         D

RSI  4.5       5.6       6.4       7.1

R      26        32        36        40

floor (over unheated spaces)     
 
         A         B         C         D

RSI  4.7       4.7       4.7       4.7

R      27        27        27        27
  

Windows and doors:

• Improve the airtightness of windows and doors by caulking and weatherstripping.
• Enhance the thermal resistance of windows by adding a storm window.
• Install "interior storm windows" by adding shrink wrap to the interior.
• Install an acrylic inner sheet.

• Window types. Windows and doors account for a heat loss of about 15-20%. High thermal performance window technologies can turn this from a net loss into a net gain. High-performance windows with triple glazing, low-emissivity (low-E), argon filled spaces, and wood-vinyl frame have an overall thermal resistance value approaching RSI 1, compared to RSI 0.36 for a standard double glazed window. High performance windows initially cost more than standard double glazed windows but the payback is less than 4 years for an electrically heated house and 8 years for natural gas homes. Check for utility and government grant programs that shorten payback periods.
• Window styles. The most energy efficient are fixed windows because there is less opportunity for air leakage. Next, hinged windows are more efficient than sliding ones since they can be tightly shut with a compression seal.
• Window frames. Solid wood and clad wood frames have high insulation values. Aluminum, on the other hand, conducts heat quickly so use a thermal break.

Plant Trees

According to a study commissioned by Friends of the Earth, the "tree-house effect" from 3 trees per house combined with a 20% increase in the surface albedo of buildings (from a moderate-dark to medium-light colour) results in substantial energy savings across Canada:

In the winter, trees can reduce your home's air leakage and heating requirements by redirecting winds away from your home and slowing down windspeeds. Check the wind direction where you live to determine where to plant evergreen windbreaks. You can do it yourself by watching the direction trees sway or flags blow for a few hours over several months. Or simply call your weather office. The diagram below provides a blueprint for planting trees in areas with prevailing northwest winds.

In the summer, trees can greatly reduce your cooling needs. Tall, leafy deciduous trees on the south, east and west sides of your house can provide direct shade for your home. Trees and shrubs also cool the microclimate so that cooling units don't have to work as hard as they take in cooler air. Friends of the Earth note that "A tree over the air conditioner may be your biggest money saver."

Another way trees help avert global warming is by the direct absorption of CO2. The average tree absorbs about 4.5 kilograms of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year.

Trees in your neighbourhood provide many other environmental benefits. Trees absorb toxins such as ozone and sulfur dioxide, create a sound barrier against noise pollution, provide a habitat for birds and other animals, who in turn control insect populations, and intercept rainfall, reducing peak flood flows in the storm sewer system.

Temperature Setting

            Suggested Temperature Settings
            21  C (70  F) when relaxing
            20  C (68  F) when working/exercising
            18  C (64  F) when sleeping
            16  C (61  F) when no-one is home

Heating Systems

Passive solar avoids the greenhouse gas pollution resulting from conventional space heating, cooling and lighting methods.

Passive solar technology is a "design concept" featuring:

• sun facing windows
• the use of high performance windows
• the use of active mechanical ventilation to distribute and store solar heat
• the use of transparent insulation or use of solar dynamic walls
• envelope colour and texture

Electricity

Heat Pumps

Ground source heat pumps, also called Earth energy systems, use a renewable resource--the Earth's natural heat. An Earth energy system uses a heat pump to remove heat from the Earth or ground water in cold weather and transfers it to the house through an outdoor underground piping system. It saves 50% more than air source heat pumps since the temperature of the ground is higher in winter than air temperatures.

From a global warming perspective, Earth energy systems come out on top: they reduce energy consumption by 65% compared with oil or electric furnaces or 50% for a high efficiency gas furnace.

Natural Gas

Oil

Furnace Tune-up

Summer Cooling

• plant deciduous trees to provide shade for your attic and windows
• shade windows with awnings, wooden louvres, and other devices
• improve attic insulation and ventilation (for every 300 square feet of attic floor area, there should be 1 square foot of unobstructed cross ventilation from end to end and from bottom to top of the attic space)
• fans are efficient methods of summer cooling
• look for energy efficient window air conditioning (calculate the wattage of the unit by multiplying amps x voltage)

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3. Water Heating

Be a greenhouse gas miser and a water miser at the same time! Water heating is the largest home energy user after space heating, and accounts for 14% of the average home energy bill.

Energy efficient showerhead

Washing clothes

Energy efficient hot water tanks

Temperature Setting

Water heating systems

Solar water heaters use the sun's energy to provide domestic hot water. They can provide between 35% and 75% of your hot water needs, depending on their solarguide rating. The Canadian Solar Industries Association rates solar water heaters based on their size, type, number of collectros and other design features.

You can also use active solar heat technology to heat swimming pools.

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4. Appliances

Refrigerators

Freezers

Ranges

-Microwave ovens use half the energy of traditional ovens, but are only half as efficient as the stove top elements.

-The most energy efficient way of cooking small amounts of food is to use the microwave oven, toaster oven, slow cooker or induction cooktops. A slow cooker, for example, uses up to 80% less energy than would be required to cook the same food on the range. Also, electric kettles use half the energy required to heat water on a cooktop. Turn overns and stove top elements before cooking is done and let the waste heat finish the job.

Dishwashers

Clothes washers

Dryers

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5. Lighting

There are 30 to 50 light fixtures in the average home. Together they consume about 2% of home energy use (or 8% of the average home owner's electricity bill).

• Switch to compact fluorescent lighting--the greenhouse gas miser's favourite. Compact fluorescent light bulbs use about 20-30% of the energy consumed by regular incandescent lights. A compact fluorescent can cost 20 times as much as a regular bulb but it lasts ten times longer and more than pays for itself in energy savings.

  How much can you save by replacing a standard incandescent with a compact fluorescent? The chart below shows that a compact fluorescent saves 125 kg of CO2 and $32.60 over its lifetime!

• Use halogen lamps. Halogen lamps use 40-50% less energy than standard incandescents plus they last twice as long. 45 and 90 watt halogen lamps replace standard 75 and 150 watt spot and flood lights respectively. They are ideal for places where fluorescents bulbs are not suitable (e.g., with dimmers).
• If you must, use energy efficient incandescent bulbs. Energy efficient incandescents save a bit of energy compared to regular incandescents. They are available in 34, 52, 90, and 135 watts replacing 40, 60, 100, and 150 regular incandescent respectively. A cautionary note on "long life incandescents": they last up to 2-3 times longer but use up to 30% more energy than regular incandescents.
• Turn it off! It pays to turn the lights off even when you leave the room for a short time.
• Minimize the number of light bulbs. One 100 watt bulb gives off as much light as six 25 watt bulbs, saving 50 watts of energy and reducing waste as fewer bulbs need to be thrown away into landfills.
• Use energy efficient security lighting such as motion sensors and timers. A motion sensor using a 45 watt halogen light may be set off 6 times an evening for say 10 minutes each time. Annually, it would consume 16 kWh in electricity and result in the release of 4 kg of CO2. Leaving a 100 watt incandescent light bulb on all day, on the other hand, would use 876 kWh and produce 193 kg of CO2.

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6. Waste Reduction

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

• Reduce paper consumption. The average Canadian uses 193 kg of paper each year compared to 1 kg for the average Chinese.
• Reuse paper. Share the daily newspaper. Circulate reports instead of making 1 copy/person. Read magazines and journals at the library. Use scrap paper for note-taking.
• Recycle paper. Recycled paper requires up to 50% less energy to produce. Every ton of recycled paper saves up to 19 trees.
• One ton of aluminum produced from recycled cans rather than primary metal uses 2/3 less energy. It also avoids the production and release of 1.8 kg of halon gases equivalent to 15 tonnes of CO2.
• Similar energy savings are achieved from recycling glass, steel and plastic as shown in the figure below.

Compost

By composting you also reduce the need for chemical fertilizers whose manufacture and use also emit greenhouse gases. Nitrogen fertilizer use, for example, accounts for 25% of Canada's total nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, a potent greenhouse gas.

Be a Greenhouse Gas Miser on the Road!

Each litre of gas consumed by vehicles contributes 2.36 kg of CO2 to the atmosphere. The average car in Canada releases 4,925 kg of CO2 each year, equal to the weight of three and a half cars.

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7. Transportation Modes

Walk or Ride a Bike

Compare the CO2 savings of walking and taking the car for a short trip to the corner store or local library. Starting a cold car engine for short trips, whether in winter or summer, can double fuel consumption. Driving a short distance to and from a store one kilometre away consumes as much as a quarter litre of gasoline. Walking a twenty minute walk instead is good exercise and you save more than 500 grams of CO2. Eliminating four such trips a week would save 100 kg of CO2 each year.

Mass Transit

• A single driver in a car produces about 8 times as much CO2 per person kilometre as a rider on public transit.
• Take an intercity bus or train instead of driving alone.
• For short distances rail and bus are more efficient modes than aviation.

Carpool

-Instead of driving alone in a car, set up a carpool with your co-workers, neighbours and friends. Each new carpool saves an average of 2000 litres of gasoline a year. That's equal to 4,720 kg of CO2! Carpooling also pays in terms of dollars saved on gas, reduced wear-and-tear, and lower insurance fees.

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8. The Automobile

Buying a New Car

• When purchasing a new car, look for a fuel efficient model. The average fuel efficiency of cars in Canada is 12 litres per 100 kilometres. For new cars, it's 8.7 L/100km. Buying a car with a fuel efficiency of 6 L/100 km can cut your automobile CO2 emissions in half as shown in the figure below.

• More efficient vehicles tend to weigh less, have smaller engines and other features such as fuel injection, cruise control, and energy-saver radial tires. Energy-saver radial tires, for example, are designed to be more inflated than regular radial tires in order to reduce rolling resistance and increase fuel efficiency.

• Try to avoid gas guzzler options such as a high performance engine, turbocharged V8 engine, 4-barrel carburetor on a V8 engine, four-wheel drive, sun roof, roof rack, power steering, and air conditioning.

Maintenance

• Keep your vehicle well-tuned. A poorly tuned car can decrease fuel economy by up to 10%.

• Keep tires properly inflated. Improper tire inflation wastes up to 5% ongas.

• Remove snow tires in the spring. Use of snow tires increases fuel consumption by up to 4%.

• Use premium, multi-grade oil. It can improve your car's fuel economy by up to 6% by reducing engine friction.

• Remove unnecessary weight and reduce aerodynamic drag. Every 45 kg of extra weight in your trunk consumes 1% more fuel. Remove roof racks when they are not in use. Even an empty roof rack increases wind resistance enough to increase fuel use on the highway by 1%.

Driving Habits

Transport Canada estimates that differences in driving style leads to a 20% variation in fuel consumption among drivers.

• Watch your speed. Most cars use about 10% more gas when driven at 100 km/hour rather than 90 km/hour. At speeds above the legal limit of 100 km/hour, the fuel loss is about 1% for each kilometre per hour increase in speed.

• Conserve your car's momentum.

• Avoid idling. According to the Canadian Automobile Association, you should avoid idling a car for more than 30 seconds when it starts (even in cold weather), and turn the motor off if the car will be stopped for more than 60 seconds.

• Avoid bumpy roads. Rough asphalt, pot holes and gravel increase fuel consumption by as much as 15-35%.

• Minimize the use of car air conditioning. Air conditioners can increase your fuel use by up to 10-12% in stop-and-go traffic and 3-4% at highway speeds. They also release ozone-depleting CFCs into the atmosphere. An alternative in stop-and-go traffic is to open windows or the sunroof, although this increases aerodynamic drag and fuel consumption. At higher speeds, open up your flow-through vents.

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Be a Greenhouse Gas Miser at Work!

9. Office Building

Energy Audits

• Get an energy audit. Energy audits provide a detailed breakdown of energy use and a detailed estimate of costs and payback periods for recommended measures. They are conducted by either the local power utility or a private energy consultant.
• Do not limit conservation measures to quick payback ones. Many conservation measure will have a negative or low cost. But a payback of 2 to 10 years is still a good investment for your workplace and the environment.
• Address the sick building syndrome. Many energy efficient building suffer from "sick building syndrome" due to poor ventilation, overcrowding and the presence of indoor toxics. Address this problem by cutting the sources of indoor pollution, and improving ventilation with an air exchanger.

Heating

• Use renewable sources of energy. A ground source heat pump recovers heat from the Earth and can save up to 60% on heating and cooling energy use. The input of 1 unit of electricity can produce up to 3 units of heating (or cooling) energy. Solar water heating avoids any greenhouse gas emissions.
• Plant trees around your building. Trees act as winter windbreaks and provide summer shade and thereby save energy (refer to section 2 above). Leaves from deciduous trees also provide you with the carbon content needed for your office's composting heap (see below).
• Improve the building's thermal envelope. Reduce energy leakage with insulation, weather-proofing, and window film.
• Adjust temperatures during periods when a building is not used.

Motors

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10. Work Station

Lighting

• Use compact fluorescents in desk lamps. Replace incandescent lamps with high-efficiency fluorescent lamps. Install more efficient lamp ballasts.
• Use energy efficient fluorescents in overhead lights. Retrofit existing fluorescent lighting systems with energy efficient fluorescent lamps, energy efficient ballasts or highly specular reflectors to reduce electricity use by 10-50% (see figure below). Replace T12 fluorescent with T8 fluorescent lighting systems and save 20-40% in electricity.
• Replace "grid lighting" with "task lighting." Switch from "grid lighting" where whole or large sections of floors of office buildings are lit up at the same time to "task lighting" where each office work station has its own lighting switches and controls
• Install lighting control systems. These include natural lighting control sensors that maximize use of daylight, occupancy sensors, small-scale computer timing devices.

Use the compost for the flower gardens and lawn. It will save on CO2 from the manufacture of chemical fertilizers and N20 from the use of nitrogen fertilizers.

Office Equipment

• Turn off your personal computer when not in use. Do not leave your computer on all day. Most people use their computer a couple of hours a day and access their terminals 3 to 5 times per day.
• Keep an inactive photocopier on power-saving mode. When buying or renting a photocopier, look for one with a standby feature that puts the photocopier into an energy saving mode when not in use. Also a two-sided copying feature cuts your paper use in half!
• An inkjet printer uses up to 95% less energy than a laser printer while a dot matrix printer uses up to 75% less energy.
• A laptop consumes 90% less energy than a desktop model of equal computing power.

Purchasing

- Purchase energy efficient office equipment. - Buy equipment and supplies made with recycled materials. If you're ordering office supplies or purchasing office furniture, make sure its made of recycled materials.

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11. Work Related Travel

Alternative Transportation

• Encourage cycling, by installing a bike rack and shower facilities.
• Provide employees with incentives to use public transit.
• Hire a bicycle courier when possible.

Parking

Vehicle Requisition

• Consider shared use of vehicles before purchasing a new one.
• Purchase fuel-efficient vehicles.

Business Travel

• Avoid business travel by making increased use of teleconferencing
• Combine meetings in cities
• Use an intercity bus or train instead of an airplane for short distances
• Use buses instead of taxis
• Find a hotel close to your meeting location so your don't need a taxi

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12 . Community Action

Get informed

Join a local environmental group

Take action in your community

If your community project requires funding, try to get sponsorship from your community centre or local business. Environment Canada's Environmental Partners Fund contributes up to 50% of the costs associated with community projects such as energy conservation and waste reduction (see reference at back for address).

Encourage environmental learning in schools.

Contact your municipal, provincial and federal politicians

Link up with other communities

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