CENTRAL WELLINGTON – Residents across Wellington County can now measure their energy usage at home using a new DIY kit.
Walking up to present in front of the county council with a blue case in hand, Puslinch mayor and county Coun. James Seeley introduced one of the Planning Committee’s Home Energy Tool Kits on Thursday.
“I’m pretty proud of this kit,” said Seeley. “So I’m looking forward to seeing the uptick on (its usage).”
Equipping residents with ways to investigate how much power their home wastes, each kit comes with five or six tools that measure appliance energy usage.
Homeowners can then use these tools to learn which appliances use the most power while inactive and rectify it using power bars and other things designed to make the home more energy efficient.
“There a whole bunch of different gadgets in here you can plug into your appliances to see how much ghost power there is when it’s turned off,” said Seeley. “The idea is to make residents aware of their energy use as well as find them some savings.”
The home energy tool kits are part of the first phase of the county’s home energy efficiency transition feasibility study, which is due to be completed in Spring 2023.
This feasibility study was undertaken as a way to better understand the potential for a home energy retrofit program in Wellington County. It would also include a financing tool to support residents who choose to retrofit.
“You just take the kit home and see how much energy that an appliance is using,” said Seeley. “So you can do yourself a favour while doing your part to reduce climate change.”
Having launched Monday, 14 kits are currently circulating throughout all libraries in Wellington County and have a three-week borrowing period.
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.
