The ecoEnergy Retrofit Program is (was) a fantastic idea where the Federal and Ontario governments would provide up to $5000 to homeowners who was to make their homes more energy efficient. I say “was” as the Tory government suspended its involvement in March 2010 a full year prior to the planned end of the program (March 31, 2011 where you could get tax credits for 2011). Ontario will also end its involvement in the program as scheduled. The program essentially gives rebates to home owners who make their home more energy efficient depending on the things the home owners decide to improve.
How To Use The ecoEnergy Retrofit Program
There is still time for you to do your own ecoEnergy retrofit and its pretty easy to do. First you need to contact a certified energy inspector. The inspection takes about 90 minutes and costs between $300-$350 + HST (Ontario). The government will reimburse you $150 after the test is done. The inspector will provide you with a report that tells you what your current energy rating is. The report also tells you the different improvements you can make with a corresponding rebate you will get for each improvement. You then choose which improvements to make and get them done. You contact the inspector a second time for the follow up test. This costs $150 and you are provided with a new efficiency rating. The inspector then submits your application for the rebates the government will provide.
Retrofit Program Upgrades
Some of the upgrades you can make include adding insulation to your walls, basement and attic, replacing your old inefficient furnace with a high efficiency model or even a geo-thermal system, reduce the air/heat loss of your home, replace old windows and/or doors with new ones, install low flow toilets, upgrade your wood stove, upgrade you air conditioner with a hi-eff model and replace your hot water heater with an EnergyStar model.
In Ontario we can still get $5000 worth of rebates on these project which really help off set the costs. When the Feds were matching the $5000 amount many of these improvements were paid for entirely. Unfortunately the program was so wildly popular that the $220 million the Feds set aside for the program ran out. In these tough economic times, and the Progressive Conservative record on green policy, no more funds were added to the program.
Check out our retrofit analysis on the improvements we decided to make with our ecoEnergy Retrofit Program.
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