Jennifer Zammit, A.C.C.I.

Here in London Ontario, we get snow in the winter and some pretty hot and humid days in the summer. These can be pretty demanding on our HVAC systems. Here are some tips on reducing the demand. We also currently have a government sponsored renovation tax credit that will pay you back up to $1350 on home renovations up to $10,000 in value. There is a pretty wide berth on what you can do but primarily it has stimulated the door/window and blown cellulose insulation industries.

Here are some tips that will help reduce the load on your heating and cooling systems so that they do not have to work so hard, resulting in further reductions of your heating and cooling costs.

• Insulating - In the summer, the attic is the first layer of defense between your homes living space and the sun. In the winter, the attic is the final layer between your heated air and the frigid air outdoors. The most economical thing you can do is to add additional layers of insulation to your attic or have more insulation blown in.
  • As insulation ages and compacts, its R value drops, so even if your home was insulated well when it was built 30 to 40 years ago, it needs to be topped off to compensate for natural compression and also to make up for the fact that utility costs have risen dramatically since the time the home was built.
• Attic Ventilation - During the summer, your attic crawl space can easily exceed 130 degrees. Proper venting, such as installing a 'ridge vent' can be helpful in allowing the heat at the attic's highest level to more easily escape. Another great method is to install solar powered exhaust vents that only turn on at 100 degrees or higher and use only the power of the sun to provide this extra ventilation. Since there is no wiring necessary, any basic carpenter or handyman can install this for of vent.
• Exhaust Systems - Your bathroom fans, stovetop fans and clothes drier are all items that exhaust your heated or cooled air outside, requiring that air to be drawn in from the outside, resulting in hot humid air or cold frigid air being sucked into your home when you least desire it.
  • For your clothes drier, on extreme temperature days, such as summer days at 90 degrees and greater or on winter days at 20 degrees or lower, do not use the clothes drier during the extreme end of that days temperature cycle. For example, in the summer, the heat of the day peaks between 3pm and 6pm, so run your drier earlier in the morning or much later at night. Likewise in the winter, the night temperatures may be frigid and drop into the single digits. Run your clothes drier only during the afternoon and early evening when the air is the warmest of the day.
  • For your bathroom exhaust fans, replace the simple on/off switch with a timed switching device of no more than 30 minutes. It is necessary to ventilate the bathroom, but it's totally wasteful to find that the exhaust fan ran all day while at work, etc.
  • For your stovetop exhaust fan, during the winter, only use this fan if you have actual smoke to exhaust. Do not use it to exhaust steam since your home already lacks moisture in the winter and so the steam will perform no harm and will actually improve breathing conditions in the home. In the summer, this line of thinking is reversed since you definitely do want to exhaust the steam, so in the summer, be sure to run the fans to exhaust the steam and smoke and do your best to remember to turn them off when not in use.
• Temperature Settings - If you raise of lower the temperature settings too much in order to save energy, it can become uncomfortable in your home and that can only lead to associating energy efficiency with something that is undesirable...and then you might stop being efficient altogether.
  • Heating systems are generally designed to provide your home with the capacity to maintain 70 degrees indoors when it's 0 degrees outdoors. By eliminating drafts and simply wearing long sleeve shirts during the winter, you can easily reduce your homes temperature setting to 65 degrees and be totally comfortable. Any lower than that and you may start feeling uncomfortable.
  • Cooling systems are generally designed to provide your home with the capacity to maintain 75 degrees indoors when it's 95 degrees outdoors. Since the main discomfort issue in the summer is humidity, you can be comfortable in your home at higher temperatures since the homes humidity levels are reduced when running the air conditioner. By eliminating unnecessary exhaust and door openings and closings, you could increase your homes temperature setting to 78 or 80 and be totally comfortable if you dress lightly and keep drapes drawn that favor the suns side of your home.
  • For either heating or cooling, you can alter the temperature settings from 5 to 10 degrees max for when you are not going to be at home for 8 to 12 hours. Making an alteration of any greater amount only leads to your system overworking to recover and this is inefficient. If you are going to be away for days, you can reduce the heating to 55 degrees or raise the cooling to 90 degrees and this will prevent freezing issues or baking issues.
    • Note: I find that many individuals turn off their central air conditioning when not at home and then will often return to their sweltering home later that day. In the same way that you would not turn off your heat, don't turn off the AC if you are retuning later that day. Instead, set the thermostat to 90 degrees and allow it to maintain that temperature so that the unit does not have to work so hard to remove all the moisture and humidity at days end when the outdoor temperatures are excessive and outdoor humidity levels have peaked.

Tip #1: The 2/3 rule of childcare
One of the most frequent comments home-based entrepreneurs hear is, "Oh, that's great. You work from home-you have no childcare expense."

Anyone who says this to you obviously hasn't tried this arrangement! While most work at home parents do enjoy spending more time with their children, it's tough to run a business and meet your children's needs 24/7. Pitching an idea to a client while your two year old throws a tantrum isn't exactly professional. Nor is it realistic for you to ask your children to "be good" for hours at a time while you work. If you worked in an office outside the home, you wouldn't take your kids to work with you-they would be bored and distract you. It's no different when you work from home.

The 2/3 rule of childcare is a good compromise. For example, if you work 24 hours a week, plan to have someone care for your child 16 hours. This will guarantee you some uninterrupted time to do the work that requires intense concentration, attend meetings or have phone conversations. Plus, with the right provider, your child will enjoy spending time with other children and learning new things-instead of watching you work. For the remaining 8 hours you need to put in per week, decide when is the most realistic time to do it-nap time, in the morning before the kids wake up, after they go to bed or when your spouse gets home. Don't be afraid to experiment-you may need to find out by "trial and error" which arrangement works best for you and your family.

Tip #2: Declare some evenings "work-free"
It is far too easy to always be working when you work from home. Your computer is just steps away. So is your business line, your fax machine, and your "to do" pile. Draw limits-remember, just because you work from home doesn't mean you should be "on-call" twenty-four hours a day. If your business line rings after your scheduled hours, don't answer it. If you suddenly think of a work task you need to do, jot it down and put a note on your desk. Now you can stop worrying that you'll forget the task by tomorrow.

Schedule a couple nights each week just to relax. Watch a movie, go shopping, play a game with your children, go to a park, and enjoy your friends and family. Whenever possible, leave the house. Since you spend the majority of your time in your home-either working or taking care of your children-you need a change of scenery to keep you fresh.

Tip#3: Use your laptop
Even if you don't work five days a week, you need to stay connected to your work world on your "off" days. With the real-time speed of the internet, potential clients and customers expect quick replies. Make it a habit to check your email in the morning and the afternoon.

Use a laptop and take it to where your kids are playing or watching TV. Check your email, catch up on industry news and browse your newsgroups. Since you are physically present, your kids won't feel you have abandoned them and you can spend a few minutes catching up.

Tip #4: Pretend you work 10 miles away.
When working from home, distractions are all around you. It's really easy to see all the things you need to do around the house and walk away from your work, promising yourself you'll just do the dishes or vacuum the living room. The problem is that once you start doing this, you keep finding other tasks you "need" to do, instead of working. So don't start them!

Working at home requires discipline and commitment. Set yourself up for success. Make sure your office looks like one. Frame your diploma and any certificates you've received and hang them on the wall. When you're in your office, shut the door. If household noises distract you, turn on a sound machine. If you prefer music, listen to internet radio-you can choose the type of music you want to listen too, plus there are no distracting commercials! If your home phone line rings, ignore it. Say no when a friend asks you to watch her kids "since you're home." If you are ever in doubt how to handle something, ask yourself, "would I be able to do this if my office was in another building 10 miles away?" If you can't say yes, then say no.

Tip#5: Enjoy your off-days
Don't spend all your "days off" catching up on laundry or running errands. Periodically schedule "field trips" with your children (and spouse if they're able.) Go to a museum, the park, or a friend's house. Be flexible. Every once in a while laze around in your pajamas, just like the kids, and watch cartoons with them. Do yoga with your kids or bring them to the gym with you. Running a business and raising children can drain your energy. Get a workout in several times a week to keep up your stamina. Avoid being consumed by your "busy-ness." Embrace the flexibility you have in your life-you may not always have such a luxury as your business grows.

Tip#6: Prepare for the unexpected
It's going to happen at some point or another-your babysitter skips town without notice or one of your kids has a stomach virus and can't go to school. As luck would have it, this usually happens on a busy day when you are on a tight deadline. While your world may have stopped because your child is sick, no one else's has.

The key to getting work done on days like these is to spend a large chunk of time giving your children your undivided attention. If they are well, go on a special outing with them-take a walk or go to a playground. If they're sick, play a game or do a puzzle. If you give them 100% of your attention for a couple hours, they are much more likely to play by themselves later so you can get your work done. When you begin your work, allow your children to watch a special movie, play with a favorite toy, draw, or let them do an easy craft. They will enjoy the special activity, and you will meet your deadlines.

The Right Mix
When you effectively meet the needs of your business and your children, you will experience less stress and gain confidence in your abilities as both an entrepreneur and a parent. Realize that occasionally one of the plates you're spinning will become heavier than the rest and your life will temporarily become unbalanced. That's normal. But by following these 6 tips, you will achieve harmony that allows you, your family and your business to prosper.

A report on the state of downtown London to be presented to the City of London planning committee Monday (July 20), paints a prosperous picture for the city's core.

The report was released Friday (July 17), and shows more than 1,000 building permits worth $320 million have been issued for downtown London since London City Council adopted its Millennium Plan for downtown renewal in 1998.

The State of the Downtown Report, also notes that since 2001 private builders have invested $150 million in new residential construction and a further $50 million in building upgrades. The number of Londoners living downtown jumped from 2,510 in 1996 to 3,430 in 2006, a 37 per cent increase.

"Economic indicators for income, labour force participation and education ... point toward a growing affluence in the residential population downtown," the report states.

Other highlights of the report:

*Current Value Assessment has increased 22% since the 1990s.

*The proportion of 20 to 44 year olds (58%) is much greater downtown than in the rest of the city (36%).

*Almost 50% of the downtown work force is employed in business, finance and administration or sales and service.

*Some 42% of downtown residents walk or bike to work. Another 14% use public transit.

*An average of 11 new businesses open every year.

*Office vacancy rates have fallen from 25% in 1993 to 15% in 2008.

"The Millennium Plan worked and it worked as planned," said Janette MacDonald, manager of MainStreet London. "Downtown London is the envy of many communities and, while there is still much work to be done, we are pleased with the results so far."

City officials said the report will provide valuable background information as the city hosts a series of Public Visioning Sessions to discuss the new Downtown Master Plan. That plan intends to build upon recent successes downtown and establish a framework for ongoing revitalization.

The first visioning session will be held Wednesday, July 29, at Museum London from 6 to 9 p.m. To read the terms of reference for The Master Plan, visit online (see link).

Check out this website. You can refer your clients to it and it will provide most services locally to that location and it maps it out for you as well. It is good for United States and Canada.

http://www.yelp.ca/search?find_desc=&find_loc=London+Ontario&rpp=10&cflt=realestate

July sales down, but prices up

Last month, 904 homes exchanged hands in the jurisdiction of the London and St. Thomas Association of REALTORS® (LSTAR), a 4.8-per-cent decrease over July 2008. This includes 734 detached homes (down 1.2 per cent from July 2008) and 170 condos (down 17.9 per cent from July 2008). Year to date, 4,026 detached homes and 923 condos have been sold - down 9.3 per cent and 19.9 per cent respectively compared to the same period in 2008.

Sales in St. Thomas continue to stabilize - 72 homes exchanged hands in July 2009, a 2.9-per-cent increase over July 2008. The average residential price year-to-date in St. Thomas is $183,571, a 1.3-per-cent decrease over last year.

"Although July sales decreased 4.8 per cent over the same period last year, the average residential price for July 2009 actually increased by 4.1 per cent to $219,260," says Joe Hough, LSTAR President. "Year-to-date for July 2009, the total residential average price is up 0.2% to $213,002, compared with an increase of 1.5% in June ($211,583), a decline of 1.2% in May, 1.8% in April, 2.7% in March, 2.4% in February and 2.8% in January."

"Sales momentum remains strong going into the second half of 2009," says Dale Ripplinger, President of The Canadian Real Estate Association. "Chances are good that the number of transactions in the second half of 2009 will surpass levels in the first half of the year."