image
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Login | Register
image
ADVANCED SEARCH

The colder weather is here and everyone’s crankin’ up the heat to stay warm.

But that doesn’t come cheap.

If you want to reduce your costs, one way is by retrofitting your home to be more energy efficient.

In mid-October, the city announced it will spend $9 million on Home Energy Assistance Toronto grants for property owners wanting to update the insulation in their home or low-rise residential building. The funds translate into $1,000 per home and residents can access the money between now and March 2012.

“It’s part of us meeting our climate change plan,” said Mike Mulqueen, senior engineer with the Toronto environment office. “The city’s goal is to get to 80 percent reduction in 1990-level emissions by 2050.”

The city wants to maximize the benefit for residents by adding the $1,000 municipal grant to existing federal and provincial grants and rebates.

According to Natural Resources Canada, between 9 and 20 percent of Ontarians are currently using existing provincial and federal grants to update the insulation in their attic, basement or walls.


To access the city’s HEAT grant, you have to follow four steps:

Four-step process

Here’s how it works: First, a certified energy advisor will conduct a pre-retrofit home energy audit. Then you decide what retrofits to do and complete them within 18 months. Once your renos are complete, you get a second audit tallying your savings. About three months after the audit and evaluation, you should receive a rebate cheque in the mail.

The city is using the federal government’s existing system to cut down on administrative costs. You must complete all four steps to access the city grant and qualify for the provincial and federal funds totalling $11,000.

Here’s a breakdown of how much is available for various projects:

Home Insulation

The city’s $1,000 grant is specifically aimed at upgrading home insulation of ceilings, walls and foundation.

Residents can access an additional $7,750 from the province and federal governments for insulation upgrades.

Total: $8,750.

Renovations, retrofits

Another $2,250 is available from senior levels of government for homeowners who want to upgrade windows, toilets, doors, and heating and cooling systems.

There are about 450,000 residents living in low-rise buildings or single-family homes who qualify for city grants. The municipal government expects as many as 12,000 to qualify for the cash between now and March 2012.

Live Green Toronto

Another place to check on how to access this new money is www.toronto.ca/livegreen. Or email the Toronto environment office at teo@toronto.ca or call 311 and ask about the city’s new Home Energy Assistance Toronto rebate.

I don’t own a home so I don’t qualify for these funds. But I would love to hear from anyone doing a home energy retrofit about the costs and benefits. Let me know at kscheuer@mytowncrier.ca.

ArticleLINKS
imageDo you have something to say about this article? click here
T | T
PrintEmail
DiggitFacebook
DeliciousTwitter  Twitter
Rate This TownPAGE
TownHALL
(For TownHALL Members)
imageSend a TownE-CARD (For TownHALL Members)
AroundTOWN
imageAlso in the News
Close/Open Our Readers' Feedback ( 0 )
Editor's Note: Report offensive content by clicking on the "Report Abuse" link. www.MyTownCrier.ca editors reserve the right to edit, review and allow or reject, in their entirety, website comments. Those comments that are posted are not the opinions of www.MyTownCrier.ca, or Multicom Media nor its affiliates but only of the writer. Spelling and grammar errors will not be corrected. Comments that we will not allow include those that include personal attacks on citizens at large. We will also not allow comments that make false or unsubstantiated allegations; comments that claim to quote people or reports where the quote or fact is not publicly known; or comments that include vulgar language or libelous statements.
Please log in to submit a comment. If you're not a registered TownHALL member, sign up now -- it's free.
Follow us on Twitter
image