Government now providing retrofit rebates to encourage greener living
By Joanna Lavoie – Toronto Community News
Midtown residents Ruth Bastedo and her husband Michael McHale are committed to reducing the amount of energy required to heat and cool their home.
The couple, who undertake small renovations every few years of their 102-year-old semi-detached house, wanted to learn more about how they could incorporate energy efficiency solutions into their projects and, in turn, reduce their energy bills.
And that’s how they got in touch with Greensaver, a non-profit organization dedicated to environmental energy efficiency. Before long the couple signed up for a home energy audit, which took place Friday, May 22.
“The more we thought about it, the more it made sense,” Bastedo said, adding the experience has made them approach home renovations differently.
“We wanted to ensure the projects we did were energy efficient. This process really gave us the tools to make better decisions about our house. It was an eye-opening experience.”
The couple also intends to implement some of the smaller suggestions they learned about during their home’s energy audit such as insulating electrical outlets and blocking air leaks in the basement.
“There’s a lot of things you can do yourself,” Bastedo said, adding that energy audits and the accompanying retrofits are a great idea for new homeowners.
The provincial as well as federal governments are also supportive of homeowners’ efforts to reduce their energy consumption and are providing up to $10,000 in grants.
Provincially, there’s the Ontario Home Energy Savings Program. As part of its commitment to energy efficiency, the province has recently doubled its investment in the program, meaning that rebates for energy-efficient retrofits to homes have increased by 25% or more.
The province, spurred by the recent passage of the Green Energy Act, has also recently enhanced its funding for solar domestic hot water systems by 250% to $1,250 from $500.
Home energy audits will also soon be mandatory at the point of a home sale (unless waived by the buyer) to encourage new homeowners to take advantage of retrofit rebates.
“Home energy audits help homeowners understand their energy consumption and offer ways of how best to lower it. This will put money back in their pockets and also reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” said George Smitherman, Ontario’s minister of energy and infrastructure, in a news release.
Additionally, the province is offering up to $150 for the cost of an initial home energy audit, which on average costs $300. The province also provides grants to homeowners who improve their heating, cooling and ventilation systems, upgrade their domestic hot water system, purchase solar hot water and geothermal systems that use renewable energy sources, add insulation, seal air leaks, and install new energy efficient doors, windows and water conservation toilets.
The federal government is also offering homeowners up to $5,000 per home in grants through its ecoENERGY Retrofit – Homes program to offset the cost of making home energy efficiency improvements.
Further, homeowners participating in the ecoENERGY Retrofit – Homes program are eligible to receive a temporary Home Renovation Tax Credit.
For more information, visit Ontario.ca/HomeEnergy or http://www.ecoaction.gc.ca
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