WATROUS, Sask. Ñ Last summer, Darren and Tammy Holmes took apart their 1911 farmhouse and found, as they suspected, no insulation in the walls.
“We found a scoop of wood chips that wouldn’t feed a hamster,” said Tammy.
So over four months, they did a major renovation that included insulation and new siding for the exterior, gyprock to replace the crumbling lathe and plaster interior walls, new wiring, new windows, a new furnace and a spacious reworked floor plan.
The impetus was a cold winter night, so cold that their son’s fishbowl froze to solid ice with the fish in it.
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The Holmes, who run a plumbing and heating business in Watrous, were aware of the federal government’s Energuide program and decided to try it themselves so they could tell customers about it. Tammy said if rural dwellers or farmers are planning to upgrade their houses, they should try the program.
“Some of these old farmhouses are so beautiful. We had this appraised and even the way it was falling apart, it was still worth it.”
The Sun Ridge Group in Saskatoon has been doing energy evaluations under the program since 1997. Evaluators have checked 15,000 houses in Saskatchewan, said president Keith Hanson.
This program is popular, he said. He regards it as a good process for homeowners who can make decisions based on unbiased information they can trust.
Hanson said if home owners talk to a window maker, a mechanical engineer or any supplier, “they’ll say their product is best for saving energy.”
But the Energuide evaluation points out exactly where the energy losses are in the house and how the gaps can be fixed.
Hanson said most houses in Canada produce about four tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. Sealing the drafts, changing windows or furnaces and other recommended actions can allow most home owners to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by one tonne a year.
The Energuide program was scheduled to end in 2007 but has been extended under the most recent federal budget to 2010, he said.
Hanson suggested those with an interest should try the computerized tour of the Energuide process on the company’s website.
To find it, go to www.producer. com and type “evaluation” in the go box.
