As they watched their utility bills creep ever higher, Chandra and Kalpana Jangam realized they had to make their 31-year-old Calgary house more energy efficient.  The question was who could they trust for reliable advice?

Their answer was the ecoENERGY Retrofit program.  It offered them the best of all worlds: a professional energy assessment, rebates on energy-efficiency improvements, significant long-term savings on utility bills and substantially reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

Operating since April 2007, Natural Resources Canada’s (NRCan) ecoEnergy Retrofit program offers grants to residential property owners who improve the energy efficiency of existing homes.  To qualify for the grants, homeowners must take these three steps:

1. have a licensed, independent energy advisor do a detailed energy evaluation of your home;
2. undertake one or more approved energy-efficiency upgrades;
3. have the energy advisor do a follow-up evaluation to verify the upgrades and help you apply for any grants. 

Grant amounts are tied to the energy efficiency of specific upgrades.  Examples include $30 for a window replacement, $50 for a low-flow toilet replacement, up to $500 for a high-efficiency furnace and up to $600 for significantly improved attic insulation.  For a detailed list of available grants visit the NRCan website.

The ecoENERGY Retrofit homeowners’ program is available for existing, low-rise residential properties, including single detached and attached homes (e.g. row housing, duplexes and triplexes) and small multi-unit residential buildings.  Newly-built homes occupied for less than six months are not eligible, nor are any energy-efficiency upgrades started prior to an initial energy evaluation. 

For more ideas and information on energy-efficiency, subscribe to our free online newsletter enerclick, visit http://www.climatechangecentral.com, call us toll free at 1-866-609-2700, or email contact@climatechangecentral.com.