How Homeowners Can Get Money Back Through Canada’s Greener Homes Grant
The Canadian Government has built Canada’s Green Homes program in order to incentivize Canadians to have more energy-efficient homes. Did you know that buildings are responsible for 18% of Canada’s emissions? While new homes are being built up to new energy-efficient standards, this technology is very new and most of our buildings and homes are NOT energy efficient. Luckily, there are plenty of ways that we can retrofit our homes into being much more energy-efficient buildings!
By retrofitting our homes, we can cut down on the emissions from our buildings! Not only that, saving energy means that your home is more affordable to maintain. You’ll cut down on your energy bills, saving you money in the long run!
Visit: https://www.energuy.com/ca/energuide-home-assessments/ to find out if you qualify for home improvement energy rebates.
So the Canadian Government is offering homeowners a grant for retrofitting their homes to make them more energy-efficient through Canada’s Greener Homes Grant. This program is a win-win-win situation–you’ll fight back against climate change by reducing Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions, you’ll save yourself money on your energy bills, AND you’ll get money back for what you spent retrofitting your home!
Here is everything you need to know about Canada’s Greener Homes Grant. We’ll go through, what the program is, who is eligible, what steps you’ll need to take to apply, and what possible changes you can make.
About The Program
Through Canada’s Greener Homes Grant you could receive a value of up to $5600 reimbursement for making upgrades in your home to make it more energy-efficient. This would include $600 for a home energy evaluation and up to $5000 for the products and installment of energy efficiency products. The program will benefit Canadians in the following ways:
Up to 700,000 grants of up to $5000 will be given to help homeowners to retrofit their homes, making them more energy-efficient
EnerGuide evaluations and expert advice will be given to help homeowners who have no idea where to begin to have their homes retrofitted to be more energy efficient (this is a $600 value)
Recruitment and Training of EnerGuide energy advisors, creating new jobs for Canadians
Are You Eligible?
First of all, you need to be a homeowner in Canada. (Note: there can only be one homeowner per home who can register for the program.) You’ll need to provide proof of your ownership, so make sure that you have our property tax bill number on hand when you apply, and have either a government-issued ID with your address on it or a utility bill with your address and name on it on hand as well.
Second, your home needs to be either a single and semi-detached house, rowhome, townhome, mobile home on a permanent foundation, or a permanently-moored floating home.
Third, your home cannot be a new build. A new build is a home that is six months old or less.
If you have a multi-unit residential building, you may still be eligible. It has to be a mixed-use building or a low-rise multi-unit residential building that is three stories or less with a footprint of 600 meters squared or less. The building must have at least 50% of its total area (basement included) as a residential living space and be lived in all year long. They must be able to perform an Air Tightness test during the energy evaluation of the home. The owner of the building must live within the building as their primary residence and the person or persons who make decisions about the renovations of the building must agree to the retrofits.
The Steps You’ll Need To Take To Get The Grant
Check to see if you’re eligible to receive the grant. They have some requirements, which we have listed below.
Register online. There are up to 700,000 grants available and they’re processing applications on a first-come-first-serve basis.
Once you’ve been registered, book your EnerGuide evaluation. An EnerGuide evaluation is mandatory before you start making changes in your home. An NRCan registered energy advisor will come to your home and perform the evaluation.
The evaluation that you will receive will lay out professional advice and recommendations for what retrofits will work best for your home. You can review the recommendations and pick what works best for your budget and needs. You’ll need to have at least one of the recommended retrofits from the evaluation completed in your home.
You can now proceed with the retrofits for your home! Purchase and install energy-efficient equipment. That could be insulation, heat pumps, windows, or more. Double-check that you’re buying ones that are included on the eligible models list. Note: all of the products must be purchased in Canada or ordered online from a Canadian distributor. You’ll also want to make sure that anything that is electrical or mechanical is installed by a trained and licenced professional.
Once you’re done, it’s time to start the process to be reimbursed! Book an evaluation that will look at the changes you’ve made and ensure that they’re up to energy-efficiency standards. That evaluation will give you a report that shows you how much more energy-efficient your home is now and will give you an EnerGuide label that proves they completed retrofit.
Make sure you submit all of the required documents online or by mail! Those documents will include receipts of the evaluations and receipts/invoices for all of the products purchased and the installation costs. Once everything has been processed, you’ll get an email. Through that email, you can confirm the grant total and once that happens a cheque will be on its way in the mail!
Possible Retrofits
There are a number of options that you can make to retrofit your home and make it more energy-efficient, which will reduce its carbon emissions footprint and reduce your energy bills. These options can count towards Canada’s Greener Home Grants. By examining this list and taking the EnerGuide evaluation report into consideration, you’ll be able to figure out a plan for your home that will make qualify for the grant.
Insulating your home (including attic/ceiling, exterior walls, exposed floors, basement/foundations, and crawlspaces)
Air-sealing
Windows and doors
Thermostats
Space and water heating (ground source heat pumps, air and cold climate heat pumps, and heat pump water heaters)
Renewable energy (such as solar panels)
Resiliency measures (foundation water-proofing, self-adhering roofing underlay that is applied to the entire roof, moisture proofing of the crawlspace, walls, and headers, and batteries connected to photovoltaic systems to provide standby power for the home)
Retrofits That DON’T Count
These retrofits will not count for Canada’s Greener Homes Grant, so you’ll want to keep that in mind when deciding your budget and what you want done in your home for this opportunity.
Anything done before performing a pre-retrofit evaluation
Any retrofits done before December 1, 2020
Equipment that is leased or rented
Furnaces (although there are exceptions to this for those who live in an off-grid community)
Air conditioners
Tankless or gas storage water heaters
Skylights
Boilers (again, there are exceptions to this for those in an off-grid community)
Roofs
Other Things To Keep In Mind
There are scams out there where third parties try to reach out to homeowners to get them to register and participate. They use high-pressure sales tactics and claim to have an EnerGuide backing. The Government has made it clear that they won’t call, email, or go door-to-door to try and pressure people into participating. You can read here on how to recognize if it’s an energy scam.
Because there are a limited number of grants available, it’s a good idea to jump in and try to take advantage of this opportunity sooner, rather than later. Apply for the Greener Homes program here. They are currently experiencing a backlog with applications so you may need to have some patience while they process the applications. You’ll receive a confirmation email once your application is validated.
