A Fresh Look at 10 Ways Homeowners Are Boosting Their Home Comfort This Year.
Wellness, contentedness and sustainability start in the home. And the definition and functionality of the home is always evolving to better meet the needs of the people who live there, the surrounding community and the world at large. The list of 2024 trends in home comfort continue to shift our attention toward environmentally friendly and energy-efficient choices, maximizing existing spaces and functionality, and incorporating smart tech to increase security and simplify our everyday lives.
Here Are 10 Ways That Canadian Homeowners Are Improving Their Home Comfort.
1. Focus on Energy Efficiency
The year 2024 is destined to be a pivotal point for the environment. We are battling climate change, biodiversity loss, resource depletion, water pollution — to name but a few environmental challenges. The urgency for meaningful societal and governmental change is real. There are myriad ways to reduce your energy consumption in your home and do your part to alleviate some of the strain (and also potentially save money on your electricity bill). The time is now.
The biggest guzzlers of energy in your home are more or less obvious: your HVAC system, water heating, appliances, lighting, and TV and media equipment. It makes sense, then, to tackle these areas first, embracing energy-reducing habits and energy-efficient appliances and products. Here is a resource that outlines more information about lessening the impact of these high-energy-consuming products and systems.
The air conditioner is one of the modern world’s most amazing inventions but it can also be a heavy energy user. To keep cool while also reducing you’re A/C’s energy consumption, take advantage of the suggestions outlined in this article, which lists 13 ways to save on cooling costs.
In Canada, a heating system is integral to creating a living space that is comfortable and safe. But it comes at a cost. Literally. Make the most of your existing heating system with the simple yet efficient tips outlined here.
The heat pump is gaining popularity with home comfort suppliers and homeowners — and for good reason. Functioning like an air conditioner in reverse, the heat pump works by moving heat from one place to another instead of creating it. It removes the heat from inside your house in summer, and removes the heat from the outside air and brings it inside in winter. How is that possible – heat from cold air outside? Learn more about how the heat pump works here.
The Government of Canada publishes up-to-date data and information on energy efficiency in Canada. Article topics — ranging from LED lighting to energy efficiency for parents to preparing for pool season to EV chargers — are geared toward energy efficiency for your home, business and community. Check it out here.
2. Transform Your Space with Upgrades
How many times have you debated this issue with your friends and family? When it comes to renovating your current home or moving to another one altogether, it’s easy to see there are convincing pros and cons to both options. And depending on market volatility, fluctuating amounts of disposable income and a person’s touch-and-go tolerance for chaos, the needle seems constantly pushed and pulled in both directions.
But sometimes moving just isn’t in the cards and renovating just sounds like too big of a project. What’s that sweet spot in between? Upgrades! With a few simple and relatively inexpensive changes, you could transform your home into a functional haven.
If the kitchen is your happy place, consider upgrading the fixtures to elevate the look and create a more personalized vibe. Swap out cabinet pulls, light-switch plates or other hardware, and consider adding additional light sources to create warm zone lighting. Sometimes it’s the smallest things that have the biggest impact! Installing a new water-purification system could improve the quality of the water coming into your home. For around a dollar a day, you can relish in the potentially better-tasting water, having been filtered through reverse osmosis, or benefit from the reduced damage done by hard water to your plumbing system and water appliances by installing a water softener. Or consider installing an air purifier to help improve the air quality of your home. For the bathroom, upgrading to a tankless water heater is another way to improve your home’s functionality and help you treasure your space. Not only does it provide hot water whenever you want it and however long you need it, it could also help the environment.
Upgrades Added Bonus
If you decide down the line to relocate, the expense you put into these upgrades won’t be lost. They could also increase the value of your home for future buyers! According to the Appraisal Institute of Canada, kitchen and bathroom upgrades yield the best resale recovery rate year in and year out.
3. Gain Returns by Going Green with Heat Pumps
On top of the satisfaction and peace of mind you get from making smart green choices for your family and home, you can also take advantage of some of the rebates available when you purchase and install a heat pump. Heat pumps are designed to heat and cool homes — they act as an air conditioner in the summer and can bring heat into your home in the colder months. Heat pumps also run on electricity so this could translate into less CO2 emissions/ less fossil fuels used and a reduced carbon footprint in areas with clean electricity.
Rebates and incentives are usually organized and managed by governments, municipalities and major utilities companies. They involve deadlines and are subject to change without notice, so make sure to take advantage soon if you are eligible!
Canada Greener Homes Grant
Homeowners across Canada have access to grants from $125 to $5,000 to put toward eligible home retrofits, including improvements to a home’s space and water heating, such as the installation of a heat pump. Up to $600 is also available as a contribution toward the total cost of an EnerGuide home energy evaluation before and after the work has been completed. Learn more about the Canada Greener Homes Grant.
Clean BC Better Homes and Renovation Rebate Program
In British Columbia, through the Clean BC Better Homes and Renovation Rebate Program, you can receive several thousand dollars in government and utility rebates for the purchase and installation of certain brands of heat pump. Your application must be submitted within 6 months of invoice date and your home must be connected to FortisBC or BC Hydro electric service. Learn more about the Clean BC Better Homes and Renovation Rebate Program.
Help Is Here
A Reliance Home Comfort Advisor can help you through the heat pump rebate process from finding and installing an eligible heat pump for your home to steering you through the application process. Be sure to keep an eye out for extra equipment offers on our rebates page as well!
Did You Know?
Face Match on the Nest Hub Max recognizes you and displays your relevant notifications — not everyone else’s — so you get information like upcoming events, video messages and more, meant just for you.6.
4. Up (or Down) Your Laundry Game
You may have read some recent discussions about the benefits of moving your laundry facilities upstairs from the basement. There are unique pros and cons to both options, but it seems there’s an upward trend to design or renovate homes to incorporate laundry to the upper levels. And here’s why. When the washer and dryer are closer to your other daily activities, it makes it easier to multitask laundry with other chores and takes less time overall since there are no stairs involved. Another is that you can hear when the cycles are done, so laundry is less often forgotten and left to mould. Ew. Laundry on the main levels of a home is also more accessible for differently abled and elderly homeowners. What’s more: kids may actually want to help with the upstairs laundry because it avoids the scary basement.
On the other hand, using the dryer on the main floors during the hot summer months can increase the temperature of nearby rooms. Likewise, the noise of the washer and dryer can be an issue for some. Some sleeping babes love the white noise; others do not! The biggest concern may be the risk of water damage caused by an overflowing machine or burst washer hose — the damage could be far worse on a second floor than in a basement. Careful installation and precautions by a Reliance licensed plumber can be taken to avoid this risk.
Reliance offers a wide variety of indoor air purification solutions like HEPA filters, UV Light Systems, HRVs and ERVs, and humidifiers. This year, we are excited to be adding a new whole-home smart air purification technology from BBL Energy Inc and their partner, PuriFiLabs™. BBL’s purification system combines sophisticated in-room sensors with the latest air purification technology to help clean indoor air of select contaminants. The BBL purification system integrates with your existing HVAC system, works on demand and helps homeowners control indoor air quality via their phone app.
Schedule a consultation with a Home Comfort Advisor today to learn more about investing in a Reliance indoor air quality system for you and your family.
Air Quality Spotlight: Ventilation
Increasing ventilation is one of the easiest and most cost-effective strategies for decreasing air pollutant concentrations in your home — when you add ventilation, you could quickly improve your home’s air quality. Read our Top 5 Ventilation Tips!
5. Embrace a “Suite” Basement Living Space
As the cost of living continues to rise in most Canadian regions, many people are taking advantage of the square footage in their basement, converting that underused area into a personal office space or into living quarters for an extended family member or a recently graduated kid who’s saving for their own pad. Others are renovating a basement to turn it into a rental suite.
Whatever the goal of the upgrade, it’s imperative to plan ahead and take into consideration permit acquisitions, regulations for your area and the order of operations. You may want or need to incorporate additional insulation, waterproofing, soundproofing, egress windows (they let in light and allow people to escape in case of an emergency), ventilation and/or upgraded flooring. Perhaps the most important factors to consider (and where Reliance can help) in your upgraded suite are the plumbing and electrical requirements for the new space. Think: laundry, sump pump, additional electrical outlets, and lots of lighting to make the space feel bright and spacious. These aren’t easy tasks that can be mastered by watching an online video. An incorrectly installed electrical outlet, for example, could lead to a house fire, and haphazardly installed plumbing could lead to flooding and the dreaded mould. Call on Reliance® to arrange for a licenced electrician and licensed plumber: they’ll make sure these upgrades are done properly the first time.
Did You Know?
In a 2021 survey by McKinsey Research of roughly 7,500 consumers in six countries, 79 percent of the respondents said they believe that wellness is important, and 42 percent consider it a top priority.
6. Get Charged Up About Your EV Charger
More people are choosing electric vehicles than ever before. Families, young new drivers, and ride-share and rental car companies are all in on this move to decrease their carbon footprint on the road and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Opting for a Level-2 Home EV Charging Station from Reliance has its benefits too! Although they use the same amount of electricity as a Level 1 EV charger, our Level 2 EV chargers charge up to 4.25 times faster than a level 1 standard receptacle. This means you can tackle your to-do list more quickly, embrace spontaneity when it strikes and simplify scheduling. Our Home Comfort Advisor will help you choose the right charger for you and the right location for installation then our licensed electrician will do a full site inspection before installing. They can make any necessary electrical panel upgrades and get your charger connected safely and seamlessly. What’s more, if you choose one of our smart EV chargers, you can keep track of charging progress in real time.
Reliance has Green Solutions to help your home and the planet
As Canada’s source for air conditioners, furnaces, water heaters and more, we know what a big difference even small changes in your home can make — for your utility bills as well as for the environment. So we’re offering an ever-expanding range of more environmentally-friendly solutions to homeowners to help improve your home comfort and make a positive impact on the environment. Products like lower-flow plumbing fixtures, energy-efficient electric heat pumps that cool and heat your home, heat pump water heaters, electric vehicle chargers, reverse osmosis systems, and smart home technology that can help you reduce your carbon footprint.
It’s Electrifying!
The estimated number of battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles on the road in Canada as of December 2021 is around 200,000. Reliance will be rolling out Residential Electric Vehicle Chargers soon. Watch this space!
7. Create a Smart Home Ecosystem
Whether you have one or two smart products around your home or none at all, it’s easy to make your living space a true smart home. Google Nest products work together to create a connected ecosystem that can help you keep an eye on your home and property, control the air temperature inside the home and help to save on energy costs, and automate some of your everyday tasks — all from the touch of your phone.*
We offer a comprehensive range of individual or bundled Google Nest products, and we’re here to help you determine which products are the right fit for you. Here are some great ecosystem ideas to inspire you…
Home Access: Nest Doorbell (wired), Nest x Yale Lock, and the Nest Hub Max function collectively to give you control of your home’s entrances remotely or from somewhere else in the house. Keep an eye on deliveries, communicate with visitors with Two way Talk and even unlock the door if you need to let someone in.*
Home Safe: This intuitive system could help enhance your home’s safety and comfort with the Nest Learning Thermostat, Nest Protect, Nest Hub 2nd gen and Nest Wifi router and point. Receive alerts on your phone of fires or high carbon dioxide levels in the home, and shut off your HVAC fan. The connected thermostat can create programmable and automatic temperature settings to accommodate heating and cooling needs based on the weather and your family’s daily schedules, and could help improve energy efficiency and overall comfort in the home.*
Home Watch: The Nest Cam (outdoor or indoor, battery) and Nest Hub Max and Nest Doorbell (wired) work together to help keep watch on your home, 24–7, even while you’re away. The cameras are equipped with speakers so you can speak to those within the vicinity.*
Build Your Own: We can help you build the bundle that is just right for your home and budget. Just Call on Reliance™.
Highspeed Internet:
Sharing your old router bandwidth with family members who are working, doing virtual calls, streaming videos, gaming or video chatting with their friends won’t cut it. Nest Wifi router and point works with your existing network and offers a simple, affordable solution to help eliminate dead zones and laggy areas for true whole-home coverage 10 . Plus, an easy-to-use app lets you see what devices are connected so you can pause Wi-Fi on your kids’ devices and prioritize your own 11 .
Smart Doorbell:
Imagine you’re on a conference call, and the doorbell rings. What do you do? With the Nest Doorbell, you can safely and conveniently see who’s at the front door and even have them hear an automatic response if you can’t talk. You can also check if a package or business inventory has been dropped off and is waiting for you. Plus, you’ll receive notifications on your mobile device or PC and see crisp images of who is at your door, even at night. Nest Doorbell even recognizes your family and friends and sends you a special alert if they’re waiting outside12.
Office Help:
Your office receptionist may have been a lifesaver back in the day, greeting visitors, keeping track of your schedule and reminding you of meetings. The Nest Hub Max13. is like a virtual personal assistant, allowing you to control your connected home and home office from one sleek dashboard. You can also use your voice to manage all your compatible devices, including your lights, security cameras, thermostat and TV, stream your favourite music, listen to your favourite podcasts, keep track of your schedule and see who’s at your front door .14
Finally, remember, with lots of devices used simultaneously, it’s essential to determine your home’s electrical needs, protect your electronics from power surges and make sure you have enough light to work effectively. You can learn more about checking your home’s electrical safety here.
24%
Of people polled as part of an RBC Small Business Study said they started a business during the pandemic and 55% of Canadians polled said they’ve been thinking about starting a business
8. Get Mocktail Ready with Reverse Osmosis
Another way to make your home a haven of comfort is to have a supply of delicious water on tap for a myriad of delicious drinks including the trendy “mocktail.”
Your first dapple into the non-alcoholic beverage market may have involved ordering a Shirley Temple when out for dinner with your parents a few decades ago. An increasing awareness about the risks of consuming alcohol has recently helped spread the popularity of mocktails from restaurant and bar menus to home kitchens. Celebrities likes actors Blake Lively and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, singer Katy Perry, and basketball star Dwyane Wade have even launched their own lines of alcohol-free drinks to complement the growing market.
It’s easy to create sophisticated and festive mocktails at home. Fresh herbs, fruit, citrus and natural sweeteners are popular ingredients. One way to help elevate your mocktail game is to use water filtered by reverse osmosis. This technology removes impurities from water by pushing it under pressure through a semipermeable membrane. Using this purified water could help the other mocktail ingredients shine. Be sure to check out our Ultimate Lime-Lemonade recipe created especially for us by Drink Juice Co. in Toronto!
Determine your electrical needs: Depending on the type of work you do, your office shed setup could include several electrical devices, including computers, printers, scanners, monitors, USB receptacles, power bars, and even additional lighting.
You’ll need to make sure your office space has plenty of electrical outlets and that there is enough amperage to run your equipment and heat or cool your area safely. Otherwise, your workflow could be interrupted by power outages caused by an overload.
Important Notice!! Electrical Work Is Never DIY!!
Consider how you’ll heat and cool the space: Ductless split electric heat pumps work as an air conditioner in the summer and will keep your garden office toasty during the cooler months as far down as -25 to -30 degrees! Ductless solutions can be mounted easily on flooring, walls or even the ceiling, saving space that may already be at a premium. Plus, they don’t consume as much energy as electric space heaters, making them a good choice for the environment.
Make sure you have enough light: Creating a bright, inviting workspace will help keep you motivated and productive when you’re working from your backyard office. If you’re not lucky enough to have a workspace with plenty of natural light, a quality desk or floor lamp should do the trick. Invest in LED light bulbs to help keep your energy consumption in check.
9. Expand Your Living Space by Transforming Your Backyard
Backyards aren’t just for jumping through sprinklers in summer and building snow quinzhees (it’s a thing- look it up!) in winter. They are perfect little blocks of space for quiet time, lounging, entertaining and cooking all year round. And transforming your existing backyard into livable outdoor space can save you the expense and hassle of moving to a bigger home as your family grows.
To make the most of the square footage, first decide on how you want to use the space, then create a master plan. Is cooking your jam? Add plumbing for a backyard outdoor kitchen and take cooking al fresco. Green thumb? Stop hauling your watering can in and out of the house. Those drips are dangerous on the kitchen tiles! Instead, install more plumbing hose bibs so you can water landscaping more efficiently and easily. Looking to rinse off outside after a dip in the pool or a sweaty gardening session? Have an outdoor shower installed. Switching from a tank to a tankless water heater will ensure hot water from start to finish. Looking to set a certain mood for at-home evenings outdoors or when entertaining? Adjustable electrical lighting in your backyard space can fulfill any need. And, to keep this outdoor space protected? A Nest Cam outdoor camera can detect suspicious movement and sound and send an alert — with an image! — to your phone or email, so you can check on the space from anywhere.*
1. The Heating, Ventilating and Cooling System, Aka the HVAC:
Have it inspected and serviced as soon as possible if you didn’t get the chance before buying your home. Need to replace it? The process of finding the right heating equipment or cooling equipment for any home, let alone a rural one, can feel overwhelming.
There are furnaces, heat pumps, boilers, and various technologies to consider. Before buying or renting a new system, it’s also worth considering which fuels are available in your area. Gas is typically more cost-effective than oil or propane, depending on your location. But in many rural areas, gas may not be available, or there may be a more readily available or affordable fuel. Be sure to keep our Ultimate Furnace, and Ultimate Air Conditioning Guides bookmarked for reference!
2.Water Quality:
Scale build-up, staining, questionable taste and odour, and cloudiness are issues you may face, requiring a water purification solution designed with your needs in mind. You may be moving into an area that has hard water, in which case, a Water Softener could be needed.
Or the water may smell like sulphury eggs, or you notice stains in sinks and toilets that could be remedied with a Whole-Home Filtration System. Love great-tasting water? Then a Reverse Osmosis System mounted under your sink is an easy and economical solution. Schedule a free water test before or after you move in.
3. Preparing for power loss:
From thunderstorms to ice storms, when bad weather hits, a standby generator can keep your family safe, warm and connected. Having a backup power source is especially important in a rural environment where reconnecting you to the power grid could take longer than you’re used to in the city. And because we live in the digital age, you can even monitor your generator on your phone when you aren’t home.
4. Protecting against flooding:
There are various reasons why homes can flood. Usually, it happens when stormwater or groundwater fails to drain properly and seeps in due to a crack or opening in your home’s foundation, windows or doors. Poor draining or grading, overflowing eavestroughs or plugged downspouts, or overgrown tree roots (yes, that beautiful tree that made you fall in love with the house) that block, shift or collapse pipes are all culprits. A licensed Reliance plumber can offer helpful advice on avoiding or addressing flooding.
10. A Comfortable Home is a Sustainable Home
Sustainability isn’t just a buzzword anymore. It’s a way of life. There’s always something more we can improve on as homeowners when it comes to sustainability. Not just reduce, reuse and recycle, but also restore, recover and repurpose. And we can make a big impact by shopping local for, say, materials for renovation projects, and by installing clean tech, such as a heat pump when upgrading our home or an EV charging station for a new vehicle.
At Reliance, we recognize that homeowners who are endeavoring to do their best to go green at home, have the same expectations for the brands they buy from.
Reliance strives to do everything possible in the areas where we are best equipped to effect change and we are always looking at ways to offer customers more sustainable home comfort equipment. Our company’s sustainability goals align with the UN’s Sustainable Development goals, including clean water and sanitation, and climate action. And at Reliance, our environmental commitment involves developing clean energy services and policies, meeting waste-reduction targets, and offering our customers energy-efficient products.
We are here to help you find Green Solutions for your home comfort needs. Be sure to ask us about our lower flow plumbing fixtures, tankless water heaters, heat pumps, smart home devices that can help save energy.
Corporate Social Responsibility helps build trust, raise awareness and encourages social change.
This is why we took a close look at areas where together,
we can make the most meaningful impact on our communities and the environment.
We started by creating a very simple yet clear corporate social responsibility mission statement
to Create a More Comfortable Tomorrow. The meaning is simple.
It’s about providing comfort to our Customers, our Team Members, our Communities and our planet.
Two pillars anchor Reliance’s CSR program; environmental sustainability and community
involvement. These pillars have four priorities; Energy and Climate Resources, and Waste
Products and Services, and Community Investment. Let’s take a closer look at how small changes in
behaviour in these areas will create a more comfortable tomorrow. So, how can we be more
energy efficient as a business? Let’s turn lights and printers off when they’re not being used.
Let’s find opportunities to use energy-efficient lighting in our branches, reduce vehicle idling
time and eliminate the use of plastic cups and bottles. Change is good no matter how small.
This is our main priority as we produce a lot of waste as an organization.
In fact, we are committing to diverting more waste from landfill and being more accountable
for separating recyclables, reusables and waste. We all play a key role in this new way of working.
Reliance is leading the way in driving forward technologies that are helping
Canadian homeowners save money and reduce their impact on the environment.
Heating, cooling and hot water account for 40% of a home’s carbon footprint so making improvements
in these areas is crucial for a greener tomorrow. From installing a smart thermostat
to electrification, Reliance is committed to taking care of our customers and the environment.
We have long-standing relationships with United Way and Habitat for Humanity
and we will continue to re-evaluate where our donations make the biggest impact.
We’ve done a great job at supporting the most vulnerable people in our community
but we can do more. Let’s be active participants in the change we want to see.
Small changes will create big outputs and together, Reliance will become corporate
social responsibility champions and pave the path to a more sustainable future.
Reliance, Creating a More Comfortable Tomorrow
Across the country, our Team Members stay active in their neighbourhoods to make a difference in people’s lives. As a company, we support many worthy causes like United Way Centraide Canada, Habitat for Humanity, Dress for Success, Water First, Christmas toy drives and the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, to name a few.
To pave the path to a more diverse and inclusive workforce, Reliance introduced LIFT, a Team Member-led group to support, inspire, and empower our female Team Members. We have also partnered with Pride at Work Canada to recognize the skills of LGBTQ2+ people. Through dialogue, education and thought leadership, we are building a safer, more inclusive workspace for all.
We are taking action to Create a More Comfortable Tomorrow™ for our Team Members, our customers and our communities.
83%
of consumers think companies should be actively shaping ESG best practices according to a 2021 PWC survey in the U.S
Call on Reliance and our team of experts will take care of all your home comfort needs — no matter what’s trending.
Google, Google Assistant, Nest Hub Max, Nest Hub (2nd gen), Nest Doorbell (wired), Nest x Yale Lock, Nest Wifi and Points, Nest Thermostat, Nest Protect, Nest Cam (outdoor or indoor, battery), Nest Cam with floodlight, Nest Audio are trademarks of Google LLC.
1Personalized results require additional enrollment and setup.
2Subscription services may be required for certain content.
3The Nest Hub Max requires a Wi-Fi network, a nearby electrical socket, and a compatible
(Android, iOS) mobile device. A Google Account is required for full access to features.
Minimum OS requirements are available at g.co/home/req.
4Google Duo account required to make video calls and leave video messages.
5Some features, including mobile notifications and remote control, video streaming, and video recording, require working internet and Wi-Fi.
6Personalized results require additional enrollment and setup
7Sleep Sensing features are subject to your permissions and settings. They use motion, sound and other device and sensor data to work. They also require placing the device close to the bed and calibrating for your sleeping position. Google Assistant, the Google Fit app and other Google apps may be required for full functionality. Google Assistant requires a Google Account.
8Nest Hub with Sleep Sensing is not intended to diagnose, cure, mitigate, prevent or treat any disease or condition and should not be used as an alternative to seeking appropriate medical advice or treatment where needed. Consult your healthcare professional for questions about your health.
9Device placement and nearby people, pets or noises can cause inaccurate readings.
10Home size, materials and layout can affect how Wi-Fi signal travels. Larger homes or homes with thicker walls or long, narrow layouts may need extra Wifi points for full coverage. Strength and speed of signal will depend on your internet provider. Minimum OS requirements are available at g.co/nestwifi/req.
11Controlling certain devices and features in your home requires a compatible smart device. The Wifi point is optimized for select content services only.
12Video recording requires a Nest Aware subscription (sold separately). Some features, including mobile notifications, video streaming and video recording, require working Internet and Wi-Fi. Intelligent alerts require a Nest Aware subscription
13The Nest Hub Max requires a Wi-Fi network, a nearby electrical socket, and a compatible
(Android, iOS) mobile device. A Google Account is required for full access to features.
Minimum OS requirements are available at g.co/home/req.
[4Subscription services may be required for certain content. Personalized results require additional enrollment and setup