Home Energy Audits
Learn about energy audits and how they can save you tax dollars!
Recent Posts
LiveSmart BC Gets Renewed Energy
When funding ran out for the original LiveSmart BC household energy conservation program, the hugely successful program closed to the chagrin of many who missed the opportunity to take advantage of rebates and grants.The Provincial goverment just announced that it found $35 million in its new budget to give to the LiveSmart BC renewed energy.
The LiveSmart BC program offers financial support for household energy assessments and rebates up to $1,450 for installing energy efficient appliances.
Need an energy audit for your home?
You can contract a certified energy adviser to audit your energy usage and recommend the most efficient upgrades to save energy and reduce costs.
Rebates run as high as $1,450 for air source heat pump installations that meet specified efficiency targets, while gas furnace replacements can earn rebates as high as $1,130 in interior and northern B.C. and up to $770 on the south coast. Insulation, window replacements and draft-proofing can net lesser amounts.
Federal ecoENERGY Retrofit Program to End March 31st, 2011
Yesterday, the Canadian government announced that it plans to kill the ecoENERGY retrofit program as of March 31st, 2011. Worse, they immediately stopped accepting new bookings for home evaluations.Here’s the press release:
Important Notice
March 31, 2010
Effective today, the ecoENERGY Retrofit – Homes program is no longer accepting bookings for pre-retrofit evaluations. The program will continue to be administered until March 31, 2011. If you have already booked an appointment for a pre-retrofit evaluation, have completed an evaluation or applied for re-entry to the program, you remain eligible to apply for a grant.
Deadline for Post-Retrofit Evaluation
It is suggested that you complete your energy upgrades well in advance to allow enough time for your post-retrofit evaluation, as all post-retrofit evaluations must be completed by March 31, 2011. Contact the energy advisor that is listed on your pre-retrofit evaluation report or contact a licensed service organization and provide them with your file number. For more information, refer to the questions and answers.
While the pre-retrofit assessment phase is now complete, homeowners will continue to undertake energy efficiency improvement work on their homes, which will increase the energy savings and greenhouse gas reductions already achieved by the program.
The Government of Canada will continue to process applications for the complementary programs already developed by most provinces and territories.
The Government of Canada continues to encourage homeowners to have home energy evaluations so that they can identify best opportunities for energy efficiency improvements, improve their home’s energy performance and receive an EnerGuide rating label.
The Government of Canada will also continue to support other programs to help Canadians become more energy-efficient.
To read the full release, please visit the Natural Resources Canada site.
Live Smart BC is Back
The Provincial Government in British Columbia announced on March 2nd that it is reinstating the Live Smart BC program. The program was cut last year. Details are to follow as to grant amounts and eligible items. It’s a great boost for the economy and a valuable incentive to go Green and cut energy consumption.How Much of an Energy Grant Can I Get on Heating Systems?
Here is the grant table for the Canadian ecoENERGY refit program along with a list of eligible improvements and the grant amount.Note: To confirm that these amounts are still correct, please check the official site through the link at the bottom of this post.
Read the rest of this article…
Sample Energy Efficiency Evaluation Report
Below are extracts from the real Energy Efficiency Evaluation Report for my (Rosalind) house. The screen shot below shows you the top of the 1st page, which clearly shows my house with a current Energuide Rating of 56.It also indicates that if I made all the recommended changes the rating could improve to 74 and that I could reduce my overall energy consumption by up to 46%!
Woohoo! I’m out to make the gas and electric companies hate me!