Moving to Canada from the Philippines brings many benefits, such as significant outdoor living, incredible scenery, good work opportunities, and a well-respected education system. You need to be aware of though is the climate, which can be especially chilly from October through April in many parts of the country. When the cost of living in Canada is a concern, reducing energy consumption is one way to keep your living expenses under control.
16 ways to save on your heating costs
Home heating settings and maintenance
- Turn down the furnace or boiler by 1-2C. Each 1C reduction in the temperature can reduce your heating bills by as much as 10%. [1]
- Have your heat come on later in the morning and turn it off earlier in the evening. Even 30 minutes at either end of the day can make a sizeable reduction in your overall consumption.
- Get your furnace or boiler serviced regularly. Besides ensuring that your furnace or boiler is safe, regular service can maintain efficiency so you’re not using more power than you need.
- Insulate your hot water tank. For as little as $30, you can buy a hot water tank jacket which could save you up to 14% energy consumption. [2]
- Automate your heating settings using a smart thermostat. Using systems such as Google Nest or Ecobee can make it much easier to adjust your heating and heat different rooms at different times, so you are using energy as efficiently as possible.
- Use thermostatic radiator valves. These valves work by sensing the temperature in each room and can be used to manually turn off radiators in rooms that you aren’t using.
- Bleed your radiators. Releasing air that has become trapped in your heating system can reduce energy consumption.
Fixtures/furnishings
- Use warmer floor coverings. Consider having carpets put down instead of wooden floors, tiles, or linoleum.
- Put up curtains. Thick curtains can trap heat in the house and reduce heating loss better than thin blinds.
- Use draft excluders. You may find a draft getting in anywhere there’s a gap or a hole, you may find a draft getting in. Use long draft excluders at external doorways, adhesive insulation tape to go around doors or windows, and letterbox excluders. All these options are inexpensive.
- Install double-glazed windows. This is a good way to minimize heat loss, although the initial outlay can be expensive.
- Insulate your loft. Reduce heat loss from the roof by laying insulating material on the your loft floor.
Alternatives to turning up the heat
- Add clothing layers and use blankets. This is a simple and sensible measure to reduce your energy consumption. Coming from the Philippines or a similar warmer climate, you will need to invest in much warmer clothing as winter temperatures in Canada can be as low as -15C outside.
- Open the kitchen door while cooking. Heat from your oven can help warm up other rooms.
- Use ceiling fans to distribute warm air around rooms. Switch your ceiling fan to rotate clockwise, which causes air to be drawn upwards. The warm air that’s trapped up near the ceiling travels down the walls and around the room.
- Move large furniture away from radiators. Couches or ample cupboards can block the heat from radiators.
Sending money from Canada to the Philippines
Moving to Canada from the Philippines could enable you to create a better standard of living. While the cost of living in Canada may be higher, sending money back to the Philippines. The Western Union money transfer app makes this process easy, by our reliable money transfer app.
Plus, Western Union is offering a $0* transfer fee for friends and family sending a money transfer. This promo is for new customers exclusive to Western Union and is valid only until February 28, 2023, when sending money online via app and WesternUnion.com.
If you require further help to make cross-border payments, contact our Help Centre.
