ecoENERGY SOLUTIONS

Retrofit Your Home and Qualify for a Grant!

Thinking of ways to make your home more energy efficient? Here's what you can do to reduce your energy consumption and receive grants through the ecoENERGY Retrofit - Home program.

Carson Dunlop is licensed by NRCan as a National Service Organization under the ecoENERGY Retrofit - Homes Program.Carson Dunlop offers residential energy evaluations to owners of single family, detached and semi-detached homes. Under the ecoENERGY Retrofit - Home program, property owners can qualify for numerous grants by improving the energy efficiency of their homes and reducing their home's impact on the environment.

Our NRCan certified energy advisors will conduct a detailed on-site evaluations of your home's energy use from the attic down to the basement. They will provide you with a personalized report, including a checklist of recommended retrofits to improve the energy efficiency of your home. The report also shows the grant amounts for each eligible upgrade that you can receive by carrying out these energy-saving improvements

Saving energy now makes a lot more financial sense for homeowners because several levels of government and several utilities are offering enhanced incentive programs. Assistance is available from several groups, but it is not always easy to find all of the sources of help. Carson Dunlop has simplified the situation, which saves you time and points you in the right direction.

Please Note: The residential energy evaluation service is not a home inspection - it deals specifically with energy efficiency. If you are concerned about the general condition of your home, please ask your energy advisor to direct you the Carson Dunlop Consulting Engineers Home Inspection Department or contact us directly by calling 416-964-9415 or 1-877-326-8770

Lets review some of the program goals: These pages simplify the situation and save you time, while pointing you in the right direction. Let's start with some goal setting:

Consumers' goals:
1. Minimize capital spending (buying equipment)
2. Minimize ongoing fuel and utility costs (operating costs)
3. Maximize home comfort
4. Do the right thing for the planet

Government & utility goals:
1. Reduce greenhouse gas emissions to help minimize climate change
2. Conserve energy and water

The goals are more closely aligned than ever before. The cornerstone is the ecoENERGY Retrofit - Homes Program, a Natural Resources Canada initiative. Significant cost savings are now available to Canadian homeowners.

Click Here to view the highlights that we believe provide the greatest return on your investment.

Click Here to find resource links for all the information you need.

 

How does the residential energy evaluation service work?

A home energy evaluation shows you how your home uses energy and where energy loss is occurring. It identifies improvements you can make to your home's heating, cooling, hot water heating and other energy uses that could result in hundreds of dollars in energy savings each year.

The Government of Ontario will pay 50% of your Home Energy Evaluation, up to a maximum of $150.

The audit will explain your home's energy use - attic to basement. A typical evaluation is a three step process:

Step 1 - Pre-retrofit "D" evaluation: Fees starting at $325 plus GST (A graduated fee schedule is set based on the age and size of your home)

Step2 - Complete all of the recommended upgrades and retrofits

Step 3 - Post- Retrofit "E" evaluation - Fee $150

Many of the energy-saving upgrades identified by your Home Energy Evaluation will qualify you for rebates under the ecoENERGY Retrofit - Homes Program. These rebates from the Province of Ontario can reimburse you up to $5,000* when you complete improvements identified by your evaluation.

Proof of upgrades

After you have completed your energy upgrades, our experts will provide you with a second (post-retrofit) evaluation and a new energy efficiency rating label that indicates your home's improved energy use.

The energy evaluation service includes:

Our Service Territory

The Carson Dunlop residential energy evaluation service is available across most of Ontario at the present time as well as Alberta.


Current Service Areas:

ONTARIO

The Greater Toronto Area

Niagara Region

Grey, Bruce, Huron, Dufferin, Perth Counties

Kingston Region

Oxford, Middlesex, Lambton, Essex, Elgin Counties

Dufferin, Waterloo, Halton, Peel Regions

York, Durham, Northumberland Regions

Peterborough, Hastings, Hailburton Counties

ALBERTA

Lethbridge and Area

Calgary and Area

Edmonton and Area


To book your ecoENERGY evaluation, please contact our office:
Local Calls: 416-964-9415
Out of Area Calls: 1-877-326-8770
Email: inspection@carsondunlop.com

Questions and Answers

When should you use the residential energy evaluation service?

Q - How the grant and incentive program works

A - Follow these five easy steps to get your ecoENERGY Retrofit - Homes grant

Q - Who is eligible for grants?

A - Here are the main criteria:

You can apply for a grant for a property that you own and live in or rent out. This includes detached, semi-detached and row houses and low-rise residential buildings of three storeys or less (with a footprint of less than 600 square metres), as well as mobile homes on a permanent foundation.

Grants are available for work done within a specific time frame, so it is important to talk to our advisors about the eligibility of your house as soon as you are ready to plan and undertake your energy efficiency retrofits. You have 18 months from the date of your pre-retrofit evaluation to complete the work and qualify for a grant. ( The current program ends on March 31, 2011)

Only homes that have undergone a pre-and post-retrofit residential energy evaluation service by an NRCan-certified advisor will be eligible. You will be able to apply only once per property.

Homeowners must carry out specific improvements in order to qualify for a grant. NRCan-certified energy advisors will be able to tell you which retrofits have the greatest impact on your home's efficiency. The greater the improvement, the more the grant will be.

It is you - the property owner - who decides what retrofits recommended by your energy advisor you wish to undertake. You are responsible for choosing a contractor and for ensuring that the work is performed properly. It is important that you get a detailed written contract between you and your contractor in order to prevent problems later on. The residential energy evaluation service does not assess the quality of the work performed - it evaluates only the retrofits impact on the energy efficiency of your home.

Q - How do you apply for a grant?

A - It's easy. Your energy advisor will apply for the grant on your behalf after you have completed the energy efficiency retrofits and your home has been re-assessed. Your advisor will prepare the paperwork for you to sign and will be able to tell you exactly how much you can expect to receive. Your energy advisor will then forward your application to NRCan.

A table of retrofits has been established to show the payment for the completion of each recommended upgrade. The grant amount has been determined by the relative effectiveness of that particular upgrade in reducing energy or water use, and not directly on the cost of the upgrade, which will vary depending on location, local pricing and labour costs, size of house, etc. Note: Refer to "Retrofit Your Home and Qualify for a Grant!" for grant amounts related to retrofits.

A grant application must be submitted to NRCan no later than 18 months after the date of the pre-retrofit evaluation. You can expect to receive your cheque 90-120 days after your post-retrofit evaluation.