Do you know how much you could save?
Two thirds of Nova Scotians do not heat with electricity. Answer the questions below for energy saving tips to help you reduce your energy use and better understand your heating system.
Choose your fuel type by clicking the appropriate selection
Click here if you heat with natural gas or propane
SelectClick here if you heat with electricity
SelectChoose the space heating equipment in your home by clicking the appropriate selection. If you are interested in learning more about these systems, click "Learn More."
You have hot water heating if your home has cast iron radiators or hot water baseboards connected to a boiler by larger piping.
Learn More SelectYou heat with a warm air distribution system if the furnace blows warm air throughout the home using sheet metal ducting. Heat is delivered to each room with vents in the floor, wall, or ceiling.
Learn More SelectIf your floor is warm, you have a boiler; and if you don’t have radiators or baseboard heaters, you likely have a radiant heating system.
Learn More SelectChoose the water heating equipment in your home by clicking the appropriate selection. If you are interested in learning more about these systems, click "Learn More."
Tankless water heaters mount on the side of the boiler. Look for two water pipes attached to a plate on the boiler.
Learn More SelectAn indirect water heater is an insulated tank with two pipes connecting to the water system and two pipes connecting to the boiler.
Learn More SelectA standalone water heater is a tank with an oil burner on the bottom and a vent out the top.
Learn More SelectEnter your home size, age, and oil usage to see how you compare to other Nova Scotians living in a home similar to yours.
If you buy all your oil from the same supplier, give them a call to find out your oil consumption over the past year.
1,500L
Based on expected energy usage of similarly sized and age homes.
1,750L
Predicted oil usage is based on Nova Scotian homes that have been modeled in Natural Resources Canada’s HOT2000 software as part of Efficiency Nova Scotia’s Home Energy Assessment service.
Based on the choices you have made, please review the tips below that are relevant to your home's heating system
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Water conducts heat much better than air can. Heating systems should have bleed valves on system high points (where air is likely to collect) and on individual radiator or baseboard heaters. For manual bleed valves, turn up the thermostat so water is circulating through the heating zone, hold a rag or can under the bleed valve, open the valve and let it run until water flows steadily. Then, close the valve tightly and check to ensure it is not leaking. The water will be hot; so, be sure to wear safety glasses and gloves. Some bleed valves operate automatically. Some distribution systems are designed so that air can be flushed from the basement using a hose and the incoming water pressure; but, this job is likely best left to a service technician. If air collects in a radiator or baseboard, it will reduce the heat output from the heater. An air lock in pipes can prevent heat from ever reaching room heaters since water pumps can’t pump air. Possible symptoms of air trapped in a heating system include heaters that don’t produce much heat, and pipes that bang or gurgle excessively. | FREE | LOW |
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The air trapped in the cushion or expansion tank allows water to expand as it is heated without causing a dangerous increase in pressure. If the tank does not have enough air in it, system pressure can build until the pressure relief releases hot water, compromising safety and reducing system efficiency. To prevent this, ask your service technician to check the expansion tank. | FREE | HIGH |
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Pipe insulation can effectively reduce piping heat loss, keep water hot for a longer period of time and reduce mechanical room overheating. Standard hardware store foam piping can’t be used to insulate boiler piping. Pipe insulation that can be used for higher temperature boiler hot water pipes include:
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$$ | LOW |
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Steel boilers, the most common type of boiler used in Nova Scotia, have controls that maintain the temperature of the boiler within a narrow (approx. 20 °F) range whenever the system operates. If a tankless coil system supplies domestic hot water, the boiler must always be hot for the coil to produce hot water. However if the hot water heater is independent of the boiler, substantial savings can be achieved by shutting off the boiler during the warmer months. To minimize the potential negative effects of doing this, the boiler’s annual cleaning should be done in the spring and the boiler should be checked for leaks for the first few days it is shut off. Shutting off the boiler for short periods (under a week) is not recommended. | FREE | LOW |
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Insulating the boiler and associated piping will reduce boiler room overheating and increase the length of time between boiler starts. Be sure to use insulation rated for boiler temperatures and have a qualified professional install the insulation. | $$$ | HIGH |
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If heating distribution combines areas that do not have to be heated to the same temperature, separating the distribution piping into two zones may produce fuel savings and greater comfort. The value, cost and practicality of doing this will depend on how difficult it is to modify the distribution piping in your specific home. Be sure to have a qualified professional perform these modifications. | $$$ | HIGH |
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For all but the coldest months of the year, home heating and hot water needs can be met with lower temperature boiler water. This will reduce heat loss and may also even out room temperature. Turn down the low temperature adjustment on the boiler aquastat to 160 °F. If you have a tankless coil and it does not work well at the reduced temperature, slowly increase the temperature until acceptable performance is achieved. Do not reduce the low limit control below 160 °F in order to avoid acidic condensate within the boiler. | FREE | LOW |
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These controls raise or lower the temperature of the water circulating to the heaters, depending on the outside air temperature. Reducing water circulation temperature on a mild day makes a home more comfortable by evening out temperature swings. It will also reduce heat losses. Be sure to have a qualified professional install this control. | $$ | HIGH |
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Clean your boiler and tune the burner to maximize operating efficiency. A poorly adjusted burner will burn more fuel and produce more soot. Soot that builds up on the heat exchanger’s internal surfaces decreases heat transfer efficiency, further reducing the overall performance of the boiler. Boilers should be serviced annually by a licensed service technician. Service should include:
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$$ | HIGH |
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Clean your furnace and tune the burner to maximize operating efficiency. A poorly adjusted burner will burn more oil and produce soot. Soot accumulating on the heat exchanger’s internal surfaces will decrease heat transfer efficiency, so overall furnace performance will be further reduced. Furnaces do not run as often as boilers and are less prone to soot accumulation; but, should still be serviced annually. A proper tune up by a licensed service technician should include:
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$$ | HIGH |
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Even on the coldest day of the year, many heating systems produce far more heat than the home needs. If the burner short cycles (frequent starts and stops), this may be a symptom of an oversized nozzle. Often a boiler/furnace can still meet home heating requirements with a smaller nozzle installed, particularly if energy upgrades have reduced the home’s total heating requirements. A lower burner firing rate can improve comfort by reducing short cycling and overheating resulting from short blasts of heat. The heat outputs of most appliances can be altered by 15 to 25% simply by changing the size of the nozzle in the burner. When your burner is serviced, ask your service technician if this is possible. One caution – if the boiler has a tankless domestic water heating coil, it may not be possible to reduce the nozzle size without an unacceptable loss of hot water capacity. Be sure to have a qualified professional install the new nozzle. | $ | HIGH |
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Examination of summer oil delivery records usually shows that a steel boiler uses a lot of oil to keep itself hot during periods when space heating isn’t required. Running the boiler just to heat household water is expensive. Cold start boilers operate only when heat is required and cool off to room temperature when it isn’t. Since a tankless coil will not deliver hot water unless the boiler is lways hot, either a stand-alone or an indirect water heater will be required. Experience has shown that savings of 25 to 35% can be achieved by replacing a steel boiler/tankless coil combination with a cold start boiler and an indirect water heater. In situations where the current system has reached the end of its useful life, the extra cost of this upgrade can be quickly recovered through oil savings. If the existing system is still serviceable, the payback becomes less attractive. | $$$ | HIGH |
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Air flow through filters will be reduced over time das they do their job of removing foreign particles in the furnace air stream. If left long enough, a clogged filter can significantly reduce the air flow and efficiency of a furnace. How often a filter should be serviced will depend on the quality of the filter (better filters will collect dirt faster) and household characteristics. Pets with long hair can also be a significant factor. Most households should expect to replace or service filters at least twice a year. | $ | HIGH |
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Controls can be adjusted to change blower cut in and cut out temperature. | FREE | LOW |
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Air leakage through joints on the supply side of the ductwork will allow air to leak out and reduce the amount of air reaching its intended destination. Air leaks on the return side can depressurize the surrounding area and suck in pollutants from basements and attached garages. In extreme cases, exhaust gases from heating appliances can be drawn into the house. Larger holes can be filled with sheet metal. Smaller gaps can be effectively sealed with brush-applied mastic product and fiberglass mesh. Aluminum tape can also be used but may be more difficult to apply and may dry out and lose its adhesion over time. It is particularly important to seal ducts that pass through unheated spaces. |
$ | LOW |
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Ductwork passing through cold spaces should be insulated to reduce heat loss. Generally, foil faced fiberglass insulation is used for this purpose. Ductwork should be sealed before it is insulated. | $$ | LOW |
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Restricting air flow to areas that overheat will help push air flow to other parts of the house that are under heated. Check your ductwork for dampers that can be adjusted. Opening or closing floor register settings can also help to increase or decrease heat flow to that room. If there is one area of the home that is often under heated, such as a bedroom over a garage, it may be necessary to either increase the size of the duct serving that area or improve insulation levels and air tightness to reduce heat loss. | FREE | LOW |
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Reducing temperatures at night or when no-one is home is an effective way to reduce heating bills. Typical savings would be 2% per degree C. of setback for an eight-hour period. The heating system will run longer when the heat is turned up but runs much less during the hours it is set back. The effectiveness of this approach depends entirely on how conscientious the homeowner is about doing it. Temperature setback strategies are less effective in homes with high mass components such as a radiant floor or for air-to-air heat pumps with electric back-up elements. | FREE | LOW |
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These devices can be programmed to automatically raise and lower temperature settings based on a preset schedule. For households with regular schedules, this can ensure that the house will be comfortable when occupants get up or return to the house while insuring that temperatures are consistently set back without depending on anyone to remember to do it. There are even smart thermostats available that learn your usage patterns and turn off when you're away! | $$ | HIGH |
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Placing furniture over or in front of the room heater will slow heat transfer to the room and reduce heater performance. | FREE | LOW |
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The purpose of a heating system is to replace the heat lost through the exterior of the building. Reducing building heat loss by improving insulation levels in the attic, walls, and basement, replacing windows, etc. will permanently reduce the amount of heat the heating system must provide and the amount of energy you must purchase. Better still, the value of savings increases every time the price of energy goes up. So what are you waiting for? Contact Efficiency Nova Scotia today for a Home Energy Assessment. | $$$ | HIGH |
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In many older buildings, air sealing to prevent cold drafts is the single most cost effective change that can be made to save on energy costs and improve comfort. Generally, the material required is not that expensive and any reasonably handy person can learn how to install it. Possible air sealing opportunities can include leakage around windows and doors, header areas between the basement and floor above, attic hatches, holes through the ceiling level of the house, electrical outlets, holes around wires, pipes or ducts passing through outside walls or any other gap or hole through the outside shell of the building. Contact Efficiency Nova Scotia today for a Home Energy Assessment and a trained professional will help you identify opportunities for air sealing. | $$ | LOW |
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Pipe insulation can reduce piping heat loss, keep water hot for a longer period of time and reduce mechanical room overheating. However, if the water remains in the pipe long enough, it will eventually cool to room temperature. Insulation slows, but cannot stop, heat loss. Pipe insulation will shorten the time for hot water to arrive at the tap and will keep the water hotter between uses. This can be the difference between being able to use hot water immediately and having to run the tap and wait until cool water is flushed out. Closed cell polyolefin or polyethylene is the standard charcoal coloured foam pipe insulation sold in three to six foot lengths in building supply stores. This type of pipe insulation works well on domestic hot water supply pipe; but, it has an upper temperature limit of approximately 180 °F. and it will melt or become brittle if it is used to insulate higher temperature lines for heat pump refrigerant, solar hot water heater piping, boilers or if the pipe insulation is too close to a flue gas exhaust vent. | $ | Low |
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This will reduce the amount of energy required to heat water. Factory settings tend to be about 145 °F. but for typical household, usually 130 °F is adequate. Oil water heaters are simple to adjust. Just turn the pointer on the dial to the required setting using a screw driver. If you need to remove the control cover to do this, turn off the power to the heater to avoid any possibility of electrical shock. Please note, this tip does not apply to electric water heaters. | Free | Low |
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Using less hot water means less water has to be heated, so you save. Low-flow shower heads and faucet aerators (with ratings typically 1.5 gallons per minute (gpm) or less) are proven to be inexpensive ways to reduce hot water use. Efficient appliances, such as front load washers, can also reduce hot water use. Changes to your habits can lead to big savings. Shorter showers, washing clothes in cold water, and not letting the tap run to rinse dishes or brush your teeth can all make a difference. | $ | Low |
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Tankless coil water heaters can produce water that is dangerously hot. Very hot water is also less efficient. A mixing valve introduces cold water to dilute the hot water to a preset temperature giving you a greater volume of lower temperature water. Overall this will reduce total energy use and minimize the risk of someone being scalded. Be sure to have a qualified professional install your mixing valve. | $$ | High |