Another Reason to get an Eco-Energy Audit done

Honourable Lisa Raitt, Minister of Natural Resources, announced at the end of March that grants under the ecoENERGY Retrofit – Homes program will be increased, for a limited time, by 25 percent.

Considering all of the work we are doing on our home, more and more friends are calling us for advice on their own home renovation work. One thing that I always try to bring up is the eco-energy grant. Not only does it usually equate to getting a rebate from the government for upgrades you do to your home but it helps inform some of the decisions you make on what work to do (i.e., new windows, insulation, toilet replacement, furnace upgrades, etc).

The basics is that you have to get an energy audit done before you do any work ($150). After this audit you get a report detailing the work that can be done. After you get the work that you want completed (you have 18 months), you get a second audit. The company doing the audits takes care of all of the paperwork to get you the rebate.


Here is the website: http://www.homeenergyontario.ca/

The company we used was Group-conseil STAS (819-771-6151). Two friends have since used this company to get their initial audits done.

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In terms of more information on the increase to the rebate, in order to qualify homeowners will need to have a pre-retrofit evaluation completed by a certified energy advisor. Homeowners will then have until March 31, 2011, or 18 months from the date of their pre-retrofit evaluation report to complete the post-retrofit evaluation in order to receive a grant at the increased level, subject to available funding.

Homeowners who have had their pre-retrofit evaluations completed under the ecoENERGY Retrofit – Homes initiative but have not yet completed their post-retrofit evaluation, will receive grants based on the new rates. No adjustments will be made to grants for homeowners who have already received grants or who have already had their post-retrofit evaluation completed.