Improve Old Home Energy Efficiency with HER Incentive

Published on November 28, 2019

Do you have an old home that is in need of repairs? Or maybe you’re just sick of paying high energy bills throughout the heating and cooling season? Either way, an old home doesn’t have to be inefficient, and renovations don’t necessarily have to be extensive!

You can make an old home more energy efficient while saving money along the way with the Home Efficiency Rebate. We’ve outlined 5 simple steps to transform your old home into a comfortable, affordable, and energy efficient home!

Step 1: Energy Audit

An energy audit is most effective when completed before renovations have begun, as well as after the renovations are complete. An energy audit is a full assessment of the inner and outer workings of your home, and its overall level of energy efficiency (or lack thereof). During an energy audit, or energy assessment, your Registered Energy Advisor will do a walkthrough of your home, taking notes of the insulation levels, measurements, furnace efficiency, and more. They will then complete a blower door test!

Blower Door Test

A blower door test is a tool used to measure the air tightness of your home. During a blower door test, a fan is used to depressurize the home, forcing exterior air back in through any cracks or leaks. Your Energy Advisor will take the measurements from the blower door test and plug them into a program designed by Natural Resources Canada. The program then generates an EnerGuide rating, and an EnerGuide label for your home.

EnerGuide

An EnerGuide label is a designation given to your home based on the amount of energy it uses, or its overall energy performance. The label is home to a wealth of information, including where your home uses the most energy, how much greenhouse gas it emits, and its EnerGuide rating. An EnerGuide rating is the energy consumption of your home in gigajoules (GJ/year). The lower your EnerGuide rating is, the more energy efficient your home is. Did you know 1 gigajoule of energy is equivalent to 30 litres of gas in your car? Alternatively, 1 gigajoule of energy is also similar to 2 propane barbecue tanks!

Step 2: Recommended Upgrades

After your energy audit is complete, your Registered Energy Advisor will provide you with a list of recommended upgrades. The list of recommendations is a roadmap to a more comfortable, affordable, and energy efficient home. The list will outline which renovations will have the biggest impact on energy usage. Keep in mind that these are just recommendations, and you can choose which renovations you feel are suitable for your needs and your home!

Step 3: Rebates

After your Registered Energy Advisor has completed your energy audit and provided you with a list of recommended upgrades, they’ll provide you information regarding the Home Efficiency Rebate.

The Home Efficiency Rebate is an offering through Enbridge Gas (formerly Union Gas) that offers up to $5,000 in rebates for energy efficient upgrades to your home. These energy efficient upgrades include things like insulation, furnace upgrades, water heater upgrades, window and door replacement, and air sealing. This rebate initiative is a great opportunity to make your old home more energy efficient, more comfortable throughout all of Ontario’s seasons, and more affordable throughout the heating and cooling months.

In order to qualify for the Home Efficiency Rebate, you must be sure to have an energy audit completed on your home before any renovations have begun, as well as a final energy audit after all of the work has been completed. If you’d like to find out if you qualify for the Home Efficiency Rebate, contact BSG for a free over the phone consultation at 1-866-333-3920!

Step 4: Complete the Work

So you’ve completed your first energy audit, you’ve seen the recommended upgrades, and you’ve decided which renovations you’d like to start. Now what?

Now you can begin your renovations! A great feature of the Home Efficiency Rebate is there aren’t any specific contractors you must use in order to qualify for the rebates. You can choose your own contractors, though it is recommended that you ensure you use reputable businesses to complete your renovations! If you aren’t sure which contractors are reputable, we suggest taking a look at Jenny’s List. Jenny’s List is a curated list of respected companies that Barrier Sciences Group knows and trusts.

If you are handy, you can still qualify for the Home Efficiency Rebate by completing your own renovations! You just have to make sure your renovations meet the minimum requirements for qualification, including keeping all of the receipts you accumulate throughout the renovation process.

Step 5: Reap the Benefits

After all of your renovations have been completed, it’s time to schedule your final energy audit! The last energy audit is extremely useful for a number of reasons:

●     See how much your home has improved after the renovations.

●     Get an updated EnerGuide label and EnerGuide rating to reflect the changes made to your home.

●     Last qualification step in the Home Efficiency Rebate

It’s now time to reap the rewards of your new old home! While your home may be old in terms of the year it was built, it surely doesn’t feel old anymore! After completing the energy efficient upgrades to your home, you’re sure to instantly feel the effects of an updated home. You’re likely going to feel more comfortable, see a reduction in your heating and cooling bills, and feel satisfied after you receive your final rebate cheque in the mail! Time to sit back, relax, and enjoy your home.

If you’d like to make your old home feel like new again, contact Barrier Sciences Group to get started on the path to energy efficiency! You can call our office at 1-866-333-3920, or speak to one of our office staff members on the live chat feature on our website. Alternatively, you can fill out a form on our website and someone will be in contact with you shortly!