A few years back a wood burning fireplace in your living room was enough for most people but now days people want the convenience but not all the headaches associated with a wood burning unit.  Sure a wood burning fireplace has great ambiance but there is a lot of work before, during, and after.  So all the manufacturers in North America have been coming up with all kinds of alternatives including gas, ethanol, and of late electric alternatives. For those that live in a high rise condo the use of a gas fireplace is a tall order given the need for a Gas line and potential liability issues for the condo corporation, leaving ethanol or an electric fireplace as the remaining viable option. An ethanol fireplace is a plug and play option but check out some of the new modern electric units.  They are slick, generate heat, blow hot air, have a glass face, and LED back lighting to mention a few features.  Worth investigating if you are considering an easy to use fireplace at your house or condo.

If you have a smart cell phone that uses the Android technology the temperature of your thermostat can bee adjusted via the phone.  Android Mobile device with OS 2.o or higher in conjunction with an ecobee WiFi enabled thermostat is all you need. Check out www.ecobee.com

Coleman furnaces and central air conditioners are manufactured by Johnson Control just like the York units. They are identical with the exception of the brand tag on the unit.  Save money and get the same quality product for less!

The right SEER rating for a cooling system in the Canadian climate is not necessarily 15 or higher.  I have a house in both Toronto and in Florida.  In Toronto we use the A/C system for 3 months whereas in Florida it’s literally for 10 months of the year.  It makes sense to install a high SEER system (17 or higher) in Florida but I am not sure the the payback in energy savings is worth the premium you end up paying for the higher SEER rating. (Read more…)

Keep cool for the summer and don’t pay a penny until 2007 with purchase of any York Furnace and/or Central Air Conditioner. Offer ends June 30th. Please contact 360 Living for a free in-home estimate. 416-920-7200York Spring 2001 Financing Promo

Promotion Details:

No interest, no payments during the deferral period.

No interest accrued during deferral period up until 30 days

before deferral end date. If full payment is received before start

date of contract, no interest will be charged to customer.

PowerChef on Today\’s Show

We are happy to announce that we now carry the latest in electric grilling technology for the Toronto market. It is especially appealing for condo and apartment dwellers who are not allowed to have a gas grill and yet want all the ease and of course the great taste of grilled foods. This portable grill can be used on balconies, patios or even in the home provided you have proper ventilation. Electric grilling does not give off any carbon dioxide making it an eco-friendly barbecue option and the best part is that the food tastes just as good as grilling with gas. Please visit the showroom of 360living.ca at 360 Davenport at Dupont to see the PowerChef on display. For more information call 416-920-7200.

Canada’s federal budget for 2011/2012 was announced last Tuesday and includes an allotment of $400 million to help make Canadian homes more energy-efficient and reduce high energy costs.

This means more grants will be available to homeowners and businesses to defray costs of home improvements related to energy efficiency.

With all the controversy surrounding Canada’s budget proposal, one item in there is sure to attract the desires of home owners – the extension of the ecoRetrofit program.

Last Tuesday, Canada’s Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced his sixth federal budget. And while the details “will be announced in the near future” this aspect looks promising for both home owners and any contractor working in the green industry. Taken directly from the budget brief is an excerpt regarding the extension:

“$400 million in 2011–12 for the ecoENERGY Retrofit – Homes program to help homeowners make their homes more energy efficient and reduce the burden of high energy costs.”

Currently, any homeowner who booked a pre-retrofit evaluation by March 21, 2010 are still eligible to  receive a grant. There’s no clear mention as to how far out this extension will go if it gets passed.

In the meantime, I recommend you prepare yourself as I’m certain many home owners are preparing themselves for the good news.

Getting Started

You’ll need to start by hiring a local licensed company to perform an audit use the ecoEnergy website to help you find an appropriate contractor. Click here to search by postal code.  Don’t forget to write a review of them afterward to help all the other home owners that are on the same green path as you.

Once the audit is complete, look for  reputable contractors to complete the recommendations from your audit. A great place to start is to look in the Green Products and Services section in our categories section.

Tabletop bio-ethanol fireplaces are a simple and affordable alternative (or addition) to the electric and gas fireplaces that gracefully combines character, design and ecology. You will be astounded by the real fire, real flames and controlled heat. Maintained directly by its own source of renewable energy, the bio-ethanol fireplaces demand very  little care. Now there are several models that can sit on your coffee table or you can use outdoors on a terrace, balcony or in a garden.

Table Top Bio-ethanol Fireplace - Capri

Bio-ethanol fireplaces allow you to create your own atmosphere in any room you chose.

Get smart about when and how you heat your home by investing in a digital programmable thermostat ($120 and up) that regulates your heat consumption. By programming your heat to turn off in the evenings, you can reduce your energy costs by about $250 annually, depending on your rate of kilowatt consumption per hour. Use the thermostat savings calculator at energystar.gov to measure just how much you could save by turning your heat down while you’re at work or away for the weekend.

www.energystar.gov

360 Living is pleased to announce our Heat & Glo fall fireplace promo. With a purchase of a Heat & Glo gas fireplace between now and December 15th you can receive over $500 in accessories for free. You will receive a free termination kit and your choice of a complimentary remote control or a fan kit. Come and visit our showroom and see the latest in fireplace technology and design by industry leaders – Heat & Glo.

OTTAWA – The federal government says the popular ecoENERGY home retrofit program is not necessarily dead – it’s just under review.

But opposition critics say the program – which gives grants of up to $5,000 to make homes more energy efficient – has definitely croaked. And they say that will deter Canadians from retrofitting their homes and put emerging clean technology companies out of business.

The Natural Resources Department announced Wednesday that retrofit grants are no longer available for anyone who had not booked a home energy audit by March 31.

That’s because there are already enough applications to eat up the full $300 million remaining in the program.

Natural Resources Minister Christian Paradis says the program will continue to operate this year, but the future is uncertain because all government programs are being reviewed with an eye to cutting costs.

“It is not cancelled,” Paradis insisted Thursday.

But the opposition wasn’t buying that.

Liberal environment critic David McGuinty said it makes no sense to “kill the most popular energy-efficiency program for Canadians.”

“It’s really foolish. Canadians want to do the right thing, they want to make those investments. It’s a bit of help toward that end,” he said.

Even worse, McGuinty said the cancellation “will affect hundreds if not thousands of small start-up energy efficiency firms who want to now start creating the clean technology, clean-energy jobs of the future. That’s now all at risk.”

NDP environment critic Linda Duncan noted that the federal budget last month included an additional $80 million for the program and “then on the first day of the fiscal year, they can it.”

Duncan said the government is constantly telling Canadians “they have to do their part” to cut energy consumption, pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. The popular retrofit program was helping Canadians do just that.”

“Then what are they doing? They’re yanking the very program that people have bought into.”

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/breakingnews/home-retrofit-program-not-dead-just-resting-minister-says-89727387.html

The Harmonized Sales Tax is a hot topic, here is an interesting article I read recently. The new tax will increase equipment cost, gas and electricity to by 8%. 

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Politics/2010/02/23/12993661-qmi.html

The Harmonized Sales Tax will cost you about $225 a year — before you even flick a switch or touch your thermostat.

That’s according to Ministry of Finance estimates of what the coming HST will do to your monthly electricity and natural gas bill, obtained by the New Democratic Party through a Freedom of Information request.

“Increase in typical electricity bill is about $100 each year, increase in typical natural gas bill is about $125 each year,” the document states. “For example, a typical residential customer in Toronto Hydro’s service territory, the tax on a monthly electricity bill would increase from $5.28 to $13.74. The total bill, including tax, would increase from $110.98 to $119.43 (based on annualized 2008 rates).”

The NDP had requested seven months ago to find out what the government was assuming the impact of the HST would be on household energy bills — currently taxed 5% under the federal Goods and Services Tax.

But on July 1, when the GST merges with the 8% provincial retail sales tax, the total levy on energy will be 13%.

“It’s another example of how it’s going to hit people hard on the pocketbook year after year,” NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said, dismissing the argument that one-time transition payments that some families will qualify for will soften the blow.

“Notwithstanding the $1,000 of our own money they’re going to bribe us with, these costs are here into the future for families.

“It proves our point that the harmonized sales tax is the wrong tax, it’s going to hurt people when they can least afford it, not only on home heating, not only on electricity — which we’ve finally got the goods to prove — but on things like the gas in your car, things like your haircuts, your trips to the vet, your accountant, your lawyer. You name it, it’s going to be a hit on your pocketbook which is really going to hurt families these days.”

The document the government released reveals little else about what the Ministry of Finance assumes will happen when the HST takes effect. Only four paragraphs were actually released, with the remaining sections of the four pages the NDP received marked “non-responsive.”

The document does note the government was planning to offset the increase, especially for lower-income groups.

“To put this in perspective, applying PST to electricity bills would increase the typical electricity bill in 2009 by about a fraction of the total value of tax relief being provided,” the document states.

Those measures include one-time transition payments over three installments of $1,000 for families earning less than $160,000, and the Ontario Sales Tax Credit of $260 per adult and child with family incomes less than $25,000 or single people with incomes of less than $20,000.

Premier Dalton McGuinty announced the HST in last year’s budget, arguing it was necessary to revamp Ontario’s tax system and modernize the province’s economy.

There seems to be no shortage of contractors that sell and install new HVAC systems in GTA.  The problem is that a good number of the contractors do not have the after sale service/support capability.  Probably a good practice is to make sure the contractor that you select has a physical presence in your area rather then operating from a basement or the back of a truck. Apart from the product that you select it is also important to have quality installation. You can purchase the best product but if its not installed correctly and serviced you will not reap the benefits of energy conservation, the air quality or  the comfort a new system offers. Your interests are best served by choosing a reputable dealer/contractor that can and will service the product for an extended period.  Choose carefully and don’t let price in isolation drive your decision on a big investment.

Ethanol fireplaces are the latest in home fashion and have quickly become this season’s must have. Modern, environmentally friendly, smokeless, and ease of use make this new category of fire appropriate for everyone. There are a variety of styles some of which are even portable, great for both indoor and outdoor applications. Now every household can enjoy the exceptional atmosphere only real fire can deliver!

Modern Ventless Fireplaces

360 Living is featured in an article about contemporary fireplaces in CondoLife Magazine!

(Read more…)

From TheStar.com:

You can wait for an older furnace to reach the end of its life, which happens (on average) between 18 and 22 years. Or you can replace it before a breakdown to enjoy a variety of rebates, grants and tax credits that subsidize the cost.

Who knows if a helping hand will still be around by the time your furnace breathes its last? (Read more…)

It’s that time of year again. If you don’t have an air conditioner you may be thinking of getting one. If the one you do have seems to be less than adequate, it may be time for an upgrade. What should you look for? How big a unit is right for you? Plus, what the heck is a BTU anyway? Many consider buying an air conditioner a confusing process..Why not take a minute to read up on what’s available and what all those numbers mean.

(Read more…)

If you have central air conditioning or a window air conditioning unit, you can cut your electric bills significantly, especially in very warm climates, by following these energy-saving cooling tips this summer.

When buying a window air conditioning unit, more is not necessarily better. Base the size of the air conditioning unit on the size of the room, the other factors that affect the temperature in the room, such as how many windows it has and whether it faces south, north, etc. An air conditioning unit that is too big for the room will work harder and cost you more.

(Read more…)