As Eastern Canada enjoys one of the hottest summers on record, residents have been getting daily reminders to reduce their energy use. With everyone cranking up the air conditioners, the electric utilities are struggling to keep up with demand.

It's not the time of year when most homeowners think about making their homes more energy efficient, but the improvements you make to keep your home warmer in winter, also help cool it in summer.

A new national program developed by two government agencies urges homeowners to get a formal energy evaluation done to their home. Consumers buying a major appliance in Canada are familiar with the large EnerGuide label on the front, which shows how much energy the appliance consumes. Now the same idea is being applied in the EnerGuide for Houses Program, developed by Natural Resources Canada and Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (www.cmhc.ca).

In addition to making your home more comfortable and lowering your energy bills, having an EnerGuide evaluation is also being touted as a way to increase the resale value of your home. For those looking for a home, EnerGuide for Houses hopes that one day, home energy evaluations will become as common as home inspections. They're not the same thing: while home inspections look at the physical condition of the home, EnerGuide evaluations check the home's airtightness and thermal resistance, the heating system, the domestic hot water system and the ventilation.

Once you contact a certified technician in your area, the first step of the evaluation is a phone interview that gathers information about the age and condition of the house, number of occupants, heating system and fuel bills.

Next is the on-site evaluation, where the technician tours the house, looking for ways to increase efficiency. Then they perform a blower test. A large variable-speed fan is mounted into an exterior opening. The fan gradually reduces the pressure inside the home, which allows outside air to flow into the house through unsealed openings or cracks in the structure. The technician walks through the home and pinpoints the exact leakage points with a smoke pencil.

After the results are complied, the homeowners gets a complete report that suggests where improvements can be made. Just like the one on your new refrigerator, an EnerGuide label is issued that ranks the house from zero to 100. A zero rating means the house has no insulation and major air leakage problems, and that it requires very high energy consumption. A 100 rating means the house is airtight and requires no purchased energy. A home that is solar powered could get this rating. Most houses with moderate air leakage and insulation come in at more than 50.

EnerGuide for Houses is ideal for anyone planning a renovation or a new home, because you can consult with a technician before the work is done and build-in energy efficiency. The technicians can go over the plans and show how improvements made now can save energy expenses for the lifetime of the house.

The program is available across the country. Having an evaluation done on your home is valued at $350, but in some areas government programs and private industry sponsorships reduce the cost. Local contacts are available at the EnerGuide for Houses website (http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/energuide/houses).

In the meantime, the program lists 10 things you can do yourself to improve your home's energy efficiency:

1. Set back your thermostat. For each 4 C the thermostat is turned back each night, you save up to 10 per cent in energy costs.

2. Install low-flow showerheads.

3. Clean or replace the furnace filter at least once a month during heating season.

4. Seal heating ducts with high-quality duct tape.

5. To prevent air leakage around switches and outlets, install low-cost foam gaskets and seal them with caulking.

6. Put weatherstripping on attic hatches and insulate the back of the hatch.

7. Wrap the hot water storage tank in a thermal blanket and insulate hot water pipes.

8. If your refrigerator is more than 20 years old, consider buying a new one.

9. Weatherstrip doors and windows.

10. Don't forget to take that window air conditioner out in fall. Leaving it in all winter will bring in cold air when you don't want it.

Published: August 15, 2002

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Jim Adair is editor of REM: Canada's Real Estate Magazine, a business publication for real estate agents and brokers. He has been writing about Canadian real estate, home building and renovation issues for more than 30 years. You can contact Jim at .