Source: green.autoblog.com

Is it time to go green? Environmental advocates think so, and your wallet might agree.

From how you heat and cool your home, to how much water and electricity your family uses in a given season, these are all elements of an important bottom line: your budget.

Addressing how much energy you use, and how much good it does your home, needn't be confined to just keeping that checkbook balanced. Making smart choices about the way your house works can also help balance your impact on the planet itself. Households, according to one Canadian alternative power company, contribute nearly half of the total greenhouse gas emissions that Canada produces.

When it's time to make a change, here are some options that include environmental and economic benefits. Check out this shortlist of ways to make your home greener this summer, and for years to come.

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  Heating Upgrades:

• The heart of your home energy scenario is heating and cooling. It can account for up to 60% of your annual energy-related bill. What if you could get off the fossil-fuel consumption habit and make your home energy system five times more efficient? The experts at Thermal Creek of Calgary say that geothermal energy promises $4 of useable heat for every $1 spent.
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• Source: thermalcreek.com
• The way it works is simple: pipes added to the ground around you convey heat from the earth into your floors and walls. According to the company, homeowners can make back their investment on a geothermal home installation within 5–8 years. And when it comes to the environment, running your heat on geothermal has the equivalent impact of pulling two cars off the road, every year.

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  Air Conditioning Alternatives:

• Rather than run your electrical appliance all summer long, why not explore ways to cool your home in less energy-hungry ways?
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• From ceiling fans to better insulation against the sun, from heat pumps that push the warm air out to simple ideas like planting shade trees, BC Hydro Regeneration offers a myriad of non-AC tips to keep things comfortable inside.

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  Air Sealing:

• No matter how happy you are with your heating and cooling system, if your windows, walls, and doors are leaky, according to the folks at House Smart Home Improvements, you're not only boosting your bills by up to 25%, you're helping to add up to 435 kilograms of carbon emissions into the atmosphere. No one wants to pay either price, right?
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• Have professionals run an assessment of your home, and then tap into government resources (see below) that can help pay for all the caulking, weather-stripping, new doors and windows, as well as foundation sealing that you may need. 

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  Electricity:

• Almost everything your do to your home, from heating to cooling, to the basic lights and appliances that make life livable, it's based on electrical power. Switching to green energy options, when it comes to electricity — this means hydro and wind-generated wattage, for the most part, as opposed to more traditional coal, oil and gas sources of power — is an answer available from planet-friendly companies like Bullfrog Power.
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• Source: heshomeenergy.com/
• There's also solar, installed directly onto your home — a project that can be handled by experts and do-it-yourselfers, alike.

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  Little Things Count:

• Finally, big changes make a big difference but smaller home switch-outs, like low-flow toilets and high-efficiency showerheads are part of the picture, too. Even while you're considering all these other ideas, you can make a change for the greener with one visit to your local home improvement/hardware store. 

Whatever home-greening strategy you implement, remember that rebates and government incentives are available.

Depending on what project you choose, the amount you can get through grant money and payback programs varies from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. Environment Canada provides a handy tool for calculating what programs are out there, based on your energy-efficient upgrades.

Come up with a great home-greening project? Send in your success stories and share! 

By James O'Brien