ENVIRONMENT
How Canadian homes are going green
Increased use of energy- and water-saving devices, Statistics Canada finds
Last Updated: Tuesday, February 10, 2009 | 4:33 PM ET
CBC News
More Canadians are going green inside their homes, adding low-flow showerheads and low-volume toilets to save water in the bathroom and using programmable thermostats to help cut down on the heating bills.
Statistics Canada's latest look at the environmental state of Canadian homes also found that use of fluorescent light bulbs has sparked more interest in recent years.
On the other hand, pesticide usage is up, but 12 per cent of households using pesticides are opting for organic ones. At the grocery store, 30 per cent of Canadian households use reusable bags.
Here's a closer look at what steps the average Canadian household is — or isn't — taking to become more environmentally friendly:
(Source: Households and the Environment: Statistics Canada survey)
Lights
- Percentage of households with at least one kind of energy-saving light: 84.
- Percentage of homes with at least one compact fluorescent light bulb: 69, up from 56 in 2006.
Showers
- Percentage of households with low-flow shower heads: 62, up from 54 in 2006.
- Province where low-flow shower heads were most popular: Ontario (65% of households).
- Province where low-flow shower heads were least popular: Saskatchewan (46% of households).
- Low-flow shower heads can use up to 70% less water and cut about 15% from the water heating cost.
Toilets
- Percentage of households with a low-volume toilet: 39, up from 34 in 2006.
- Provinces where low-volume toilets were most popular: Ontario and Alberta (47% of households).
- Province where low-volume toilets were least popular: Newfoundland and Labrador (28% of households).
- A new low-flow toilet can use less than six litres of water, less than half the volume of an older toilet.
Water
- Percentage of households where no one turns off the tap for brushing their teeth: 13.
- Percentage of households that drink mainly tap water: 59.
- Percentage of households that drink mainly bottled water: 30.
Thermostats
- Percentage of households with thermostats where they were turned down when people were sleeping: 57.
- Percentage of households with programmable thermostats: 42, up from 40 in 2006.
- Households with programmable thermostats were more likely to turn down the temperature while people were sleeping.
Grocery bags
- Percentage of households always using recycled or reusable grocery bags: 30.
- Provinces with highest proportion of households always using recycled or reusable bags: Ontario (35%) and Quebec (33%).
- Provinces with greater proportion of households rarely or never using recycled or reusable bags: New Brunswick (43%) and Newfoundland and Labrador (46%).
Furnaces
- Percentage of households that changed their furnace filters at least every six months: 66.
- Percentage of households that didn't know when the filter was last changed: 6.
Pesticides
- Percentage of non-apartment households with a lawn or garden that used a chemical or organic pesticide: 33.
- Provinces with the highest use of pesticides: Saskatchewan (48%), Manitoba (47%) and Alberta (47%).
- Provinces with the lowest use of pesticides: Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia (21%).
- Percentage of households using organic pesticides: 12.
