A look at how insulation and air sealing your home could save you money

Thanks to Lorraine Gauthier - President, The Now House Project

You know, we can't do everything at once, because you can't afford usually to do all of the changes you might like to make to your home. So it's really important to take a first step, and the very first step people should make is looking at insulation and air sealing their home,

Often we think that maybe windows are a good place to start to reduce our energy use, and windows are a good place, if in fact you've done some other things.

You're really looking at what we call the envelope of the home. So if you imagine all the things that are basically making up the outside of the home: the roof, the exterior walls, your foundation walls, even your foundation floor, these are all very important. And then after that, you worry about the windows.

You want to, you know, get out the weather stripping or get someone in to help you with changing or improving the level of insulation you may have in your attic or your exterior walls.

Look at your basement possibly. You can insulate a basement from the inside, or you can insulate the basement from the outside, just really depending on what you're trying to do.

The best thing about insulating your home is basically the result that you get. So your home will be more comfortable. It will be warmer in winter and cooler in summer. You will spend less money, obviously, because you'll reduce the amount of gas or electricity you need, and it's much better for the environment.

For more information visit the RBC Advice Centre.