ecoENERGY Retrofit Grant - Money for Your Home Improvement...

A little background history: In 2006, the Conservatives scrapped the Liberals' Energuide for Houses program, tinkered with it a bit, and relaunched their own ecoENERGY program in 2007. Instead of a federal subsidy paying about half of the cost of audits and a portion of the retrofit costs, the new plan simply increases the coverage for retrofit costs.

Getting your grant money in 5 "easy" steps:

1. Hire a qualified energy advisor to perform an energy evaluation of your home. A list of qualified energy advisors can be found on the NRCAN web site. This pre-retrofit audit is also known as a 'D' audit.
2. Select any of the recommended improvements from the home energy action checklist prepared by your advisor.
3. Implement the desired energy upgrades within 18 months.
4. Call your energy advisor to perform your post-retrofit evaluation (also known as an 'E' audit), to confirm your new energy rating and to submit your application on your behalf.
5. Wait to receive your cheque in the mail (up to 90 days) based on the eligible upgrades performed.

Note: You're under no obligation to perform all 5 steps. Maybe you just want to know how energy efficient (or inefficient) your home is. In Ontario, the province will rebate up to half of the cost (max $150) of the 'D' audit, whether or not you implement any retrofits or perform an 'E' audit. If you do apply for the grant, Ontario matches the federal amount, dollar for dollar.

BTW a list of qualifying improvements can be found on the NRCan website.

For more information:

• Natural Resources Canada : ecoENERGY Retrofit for Homeowners
• Ontario Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure : Home Energy Audit Program : Backgrounder
• Ontario Home Energy Audit and Home Energy Retrofit Rebate Program

p.s. I've booked my ecoENERGY audit/evaluation for this Wednesday. I'll be blogging about my progress here.