Barbara: Getting Off Gas in The Danforth

Barbara lives in a beautiful 2 ½ story home just north of Danforth Avenue in Toronto. A lawyer by trade, she also has one son and one nephew, both of whom were constantly reminding her about the climate crisis and how awful natural gas is.

Three years ago she decided she needed to do something (if only to keep her son & nephew quiet!) and started figuring out what to do. It wasn’t easy, a lot of HVAC companies predominately install gas furnaces and many tried to dissuade her from making the switch from a gas furnace to heat pumps. However, Barbara persisted and is glad she did as she’s discovered that heat pumps are a really versatile and cost-effective way to heat (and cool) a home.

I recently visited Barbara’s home (while wearing a mask) to learn more about her fuelswitching experience.

Before fuel switching from a gas furnace to electric heat pumps, Barbara also wanted to understand her home’s overall efficiency so she hired an energy advisor. The advisor visited her home, ran some tests and provided her with an EnerGuide (an energy audit program run by NRCan) to guide some efficiency upgrades. Although people tend to think of replacing windows to reduce heat loss, Barbara had some wise advice to look at her walls instead. If you replace glass windows, sure you end up with less leaky windows, but they’re still glass openings. If you instead think about insulating your walls, it’s like adding a cozy thermal blanket around your home. To improve her home’s thermal envelope, she removed some of the old walls and built new framed walls that could be insulated behind the drywall. Barbara also installed a new, airtight front door. 

Although heat pumps can be centrally ducted, just like furnaces, Barbara’s home warranted a different approach. To free up precious ceiling space in her basement (that was being taken up by her ductwork) she went with “ductless” technology which places indoor units in various rooms of the home. Ductless systems are incredibly advantageous because each indoor unit has its own remote thermostat. For Barbara’s home, with four adults living on four different floors, this means no fighting about the temperature. Everyone gets the freedom to set their heat pump to the temperature they like, ensuring perfect comfort in each room, year round. 

Shown on the left is one of the indoor units and to the right is one of the outdoor units. Electrical, controls and refrigerant are all run via cables between the indoor and outdoor units. Finding the right HVAC installer is important as the location of both outdoor and indoor units is critical.

The baseboard heating in Barbara’s bathroom.

As an early adopter, Barbara wanted some back-up heat just in case (the city also required it for her basement apartment). Barbara purchased some electric baseboard heaters from her local hardware store for $60. Even though the baseboards are there, she and her roommates have found that the heat pumps provide more than enough heating even during the coldest days in winter.

As for the bills? Barbara’s costs have gone down. Thanks to her insulation strategy, Barbara saves about $100 a month, uses a quarter of the gas (she still uses gas for her hot water and stove) and is far more comfortable. Best of all, her son and nephew are proud of her for slashing her home’s emissions. 

Goldfinch Energy keeps finding that smart home retrofits like Barbara’s go hand-in-hand with improved overall comfort. Contact Goldfinch for expert advice on a heat pump configuration that makes sense for you and your home.