Reliance® Is Your Partner in Environmental Sustainability.
We’re committed to operating in an environmentally sustainable manner and to providing you with environmentally sustainable home comfort solutions too.
As Canada’s local source for air conditioners, furnaces, water heaters and more, we know what a big difference even small changes can make – for your utility bills and for the environment.
Enjoying home comfort in a way that minimizes your carbon footprint doesn’t have to be complicated. Our green solutions could help you improve your home comfort, and your environmental impact.
Heat Pumps
Heat pumps are a versatile, efficient cooling system that use the outside air to heat your home in the winter and cool it in the summer. They are efficient because they simply transfer heat, rather than burn fuel to create it. Heat pumps are more environmentally friendly as they do not burn fossil fuels to create heat.
A furnace may still be required to heat your home when temperatures drop to lower levels, however, in the spring and fall months when temperatures are milder, a heat pump can offer a significant reduction in your home’s CO2 emissions. In addition, our certified technicians can install a system that automatically switches the heating from your heat pump to your furnace when temperatures drop below a certain level.
Carbon Offset
Did you know that every year, the average Canadian household emits 4 tonnes of CO2 by using natural gas? That’s equivalent to driving an extra 16,000 KM annually in a typical, gas-powered car. 1, 2
Carbon emissions are a major contributor to climate change and we take climate change as seriously as you do. Carbon offsets are created when projects are undertaken to permanently reduce greenhouse gas emissions such as building retrofits, reduced consumption of fossil fuels, or the displacement of non-renewables into energy sources such as wind and solar.
Reliance has teamed up with Carbonzero to fund carbon reduction initiatives so that we can offer carbon offset credits to our customers. With the installation of a SmartAir™ Green Series product, you can now purchase accredited carbon credits at a low rate of $4.99/month.*
Reliance has purchased carbon offsets related to:
- A project that captured 25,000 tonnes of CO2-equivalents from methane each year
- The generation of clean electricity from landfill methane for a Canadian community
These credits will help partially offset greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the effects of climate change.
Smart Home
Take advantage of the convenience of smart home technology while also efficiently managing your home heating and cooling.
A smart thermostat can help to manage your home’s energy consumption by ensuring that your home is not unnecessarily heated when you are not home or asleep. The result is potential energy cost savings and a reduced carbon footprint. It can also:
- Program itself based on your behaviour, automatically adjusting the temperature in your home based on the time of day, and whether you are home or away.
- Control the temperature of your home remotely from your tablet, or laptop.
Trust Reliance to professionally install and set-up your Smart thermostat.
Tankless Water Heaters
A tankless water heater is a great option if your home doesn’t have the space for a traditional tank water heater or if you are looking for a solution that allows you to enjoy an endless supply of hot water. But did you know that a tankless water heater is also a great choice if you want to potentially reduce your energy use^?
Here’s what makes a tankless water heater a greener choice:
- Instead of constantly heating stored water that sits in an insulated tank waiting for someone to use it, a tankless water heater only heats water as it flows through the unit when you have a need for hot water.
- Since it only heats the water you are going to use, a tankless system can be up to 96% efficient. That means you could save on energy^ and reduce your carbon footprint – without sacrificing your comfort.
Plumbing
Luckily for the environment and those of us concerned about our water usage at home, all new plumbing fixtures available on the market today are low-flow. What does that mean? Well for toilets, it means that the most water going down with each flush shouldn’t be any greater than 4.8LPF (Litres Per Flush.) For comparison, older toilets could use up to a whopping 13LPF.
For faucets, the Canadian maximum flow rate for kitchen faucets is 8.35LPM (Litres Per Minute.) Being green isn’t about hitting the bare minimums though. To all of us here at Reliance, being green is about doing better, not just meeting minimum standards.
Water Purification
Are you trying to figure out how to cut your plastic use down without giving up great-tasting filtered water? Did you know that 132 single-use plastic water bottles equal the plastic in one reverse osmosis filter? That means if your household consumes more than five and a half cases of plastic-bottled water a year, simply switching to a reverse osmosis system could help you reduce your plastic consumption.
A Reliance Reverse Osmosis System could be an easy and cost-effective way to help reduce your family’s environmental impact while enjoying clean, fresh-tasting water right from your tap.
Featured Green Home Solutions Resources
More Green Home Solutions Resources
*Plus applicable taxes. Products and services currently available in York Region, ON and the greater Vancouver BC, Ottawa ON and Calgary AB regions.
^New equipment does not guarantee energy savings, individual factors such as outdoor temperature, home insulation, run time, time of use and family size all effect how much energy is saved.
1https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=2510006001
2https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/environment/climate-change/lg/lgcap/2023/bc_best_practices_guidance_on_quantifying_ghg_emissions.pdf