Anthon Pang, Broker, e-PRO, SRES

Back at the start of 2004, REALTORS in Ontario (members of the Ontario Real Estate Association, OREA) were required to comply with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). As a result, MLS systems later introduced an opt-in field indicating whether or not the sellers consented to be contacted after expiry of their listing.

And last month (September 2008), Canada rolled out its own National Do Not Call List (DNCL), where Canadians could register their number(s) and opt-out of telemarketing. Again, REALTORS are expected to abide with its associated rules. Single number look-ups on the web are free (guarded by a CAPTCHA), so prohibitive cost isn't an excuse.

What's troubling is that there are still registrants who prospect "expireds" in blatant disregard of these privacy provisions. In the past two days, I've come across two cases. In the first case, the registrant blocked the caller ID of her number and failed to identify her brokerage. The incident was reported to the DNCL privacy coordinator. The number was *57'd (call trace) but follow-up may require follow-up with law enforcement authorities. In the second case, after questioning the salesperson and reminding him of the Do not "contact after expired" flag on the listing, I sent a follow-up email to his broker-of-record.

I've got better things to do than police other registrants.

Reference: Privacy Tip Sheet (pdf)

All homes are not created/constructed equal.  According to the pre-retrofit energy evaluation for my home, it only rates 65 points on the EnerGuide scale.  For comparison, the average energy efficiency rating  for a house of the same age (3 years) in Ontario is 74!  This is overshadowed by the highest rating achieved by the most energy efficient houses in this category: a whopping 89!

Not surprising, an estimated 20-30% of the heat loss is through my unfinished basement.

My report also shows a combined leakage area of 1468 square centimetres ... roughly 1.58 square feet, or a hole big enough for a 17" (radius) beach ball to pass through.  Yes, that's bigger than the basketball shown in this powerWISE commercial with Canadian environmental activist, David Suzuki.

I'll be exploring ecoENERGY grant statistics and comments from contractors in a future post.

While I haven't seen the final 'D' audit report, this much is clear: my basement leaks air like a seive. The main reason is because the basement is unfinished. Sure, there's batt insulation in the rim joists -- there just isn't enough, and there are gaps. (There's a little breeze in one corner.) Yeah, there's a polyethylene vapor/air barrier -- but it doesn't work well when it's hung loosely by a staple or two. And there is a foundation insulation blanket -- except it only partially covers the foundation wall (i.e., it doesn't extend all the way down to the floor) and its original R-8 value has been comprised by compression.

Otherwise, the house is pretty tight. (It should be...it's only 3 years old.) Attic insulation is R-32 and the furnace is 91% AFUE.

So, the planned improvements/retrofits are:

Goal #1: insulate 100% of the basement's exterior wall area to R-23. Objective: $2000 in federal and provincial grants.

Goal #2: seal the basement header area and increase insulation value by R-20. Objective: $200 in fed/prov grants.

Goal #3: air sealing to increase airtightness, at least 20% better than the target. Objective: $600 in fed/prov grants.

If I replace the existing toilet in the upstairs powder room with an approved one, I could also qualify for a regional rebate. And because the existing toilet is a low flush toilet, but not on the approved list, it could be reused in a basement washroom, where there's currently a 3 pc rough-in. So:

Goal #4: replace toilet with low-flush or dual-flush toilet rated at 6 L/flush and meets Los Angeles Supplementary Purchase Specification (SPS), with a flush performance of 350 grams or more, and is on the Region of Peel's "Water Smart Toilet Replacement Program". Objective: $200 in federal, provincial, and regional grants/rebates.

No, not really.  The "Fall Every Kilowatt Counts Power Savings Event" runs from October 1st, 2008 to November 16th, 2008.

Visit Every Kilowatt Counts for more information.  You can download coupons, get energy efficiency tips, and find contests and educational activities for your kid.

I kicked off the day with an ecoENERGY evaluation ('D' audit).  Later in the day, I installed insulating switch and plug outlet foam gaskets (aka insulating sealers, draft outlet seals, or insulators).  You can find a pack of 10 seals at Canadian Tire (made in Canada, CSA and UL approved), currently on sale for $3.59.  The best online price (unfortunately, they only ship within the US) is 20 cents per piece at GoodCommonSense.net. (Disclaimer: I have no personal shopping experience with them.)

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.