EnerGuide for Houses Retrofit GrantsIn the Climate Change Plan for Canada, which outlines how Canada will meet its commitments under the Kyoto Protocol, a goal was set for energy efficiency retrofits of 20 percent of existing low-rise housing by 2010. On October 15, 2003, the Government of Canada launched a grant program to encourage homeowners, particularly those who have older homes in need of energy efficiency upgrades, to retrofit their homes to make them more energy efficient. By using less energy to heat our homes, we produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. The Government of Canada is asking all Canadians to reduce these emissions by one tonne. Recent data shows that if homeowners followed the recommendations in their EnerGuide for Houses report, they could save more than four tonnes. Homeowners can become eligible for a grant only after they have had the EnerGuide for Houses evaluation and have followed up on its recommendations. There is a cost to the homeowner for the EnerGuide for Houses service, which includes a pre-retrofit evaluation with blower door testing, a rating and recommendation report. Service organizations may also include the cost of the post-retrofit evaluation to assess rating improvements in the initial fee. Homeowners can find out more about how the grants work by visiting the Grant Questions and Answers page. Keep checking back for more questions and answers as this page evolves. Additional rebates are available in different regions of Canada toward the purchase of ENERGY STAR® qualified equipment |
|