Changes made to the Ontario building code will require that all new homes built after 2011 must have an Energuide rating of 80 or greater.
The Energuide rating system rates a house based on its energy efficiency. A rating of 0 represents a home with major air leakage, no insulation and extremely high energy consumption. A rating of 100 represents a house that is airtight, well insulated, sufficiently ventilated and requires no purchased energy on an annual basis.
A new house built to current code standards in Ontario will typically rate between 65 and 72. A new home with some energy-efficiency improvements will rate between 73 and 79. An energy efficient house, such as one certified to the EnergyStar rating or R-2000 will rate between 80 and 90. A house that requires little or no purchased energy will have a rating between 90 and 100.
Furthermore, beginning mid-2011, the Ontario government plans to make the EcoEnergy audit mandatory for anyone planning on selling their home.
These changes will make energy efficiency a much more important part of the home buying decision, particularly if the difference in Energuide ratings between two homes can be converted into actual dollar savings - something Natural Resources Canada is working on.
If you are planning on building a house or buying a house on one of the many new developments springing up around Ottawa for possession after 2011, you should check with the builder what the Energuide rating of the house is. If it is too low, or worse, if they don't know it could end up costing you thousands of dollars in unplanned expenses to bring the house up to the Energuide 80 rating before you can take possession.
Brian Hobbs has written an interesting blog post on this issue. Check out his post EcoEnergy Energuide Ratings - Most New Homes Only Marginally Better Than 80's Homes.
Showing posts with label energy efficiency. Show all posts
Showing posts with label energy efficiency. Show all posts
Friday, April 23, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Energy Audit Rebate recieved
Woot!
We recieved our Home Energy Audit Rebate last week for $150 from the Government of Ontario. So the total out of pocket expense to have the audit completed was only $150. Really, there is no reason not to have a home energy audit done if you live in an older home. The most common air leakage problems can be fixed with caulking, weather stripping and plug covers, and you will make back the $150 you spent in saved energy bills in just a couple of years. Plus you'll have the moral beneift of reducing your greenhouse gas emission footprint.
We recieved our Home Energy Audit Rebate last week for $150 from the Government of Ontario. So the total out of pocket expense to have the audit completed was only $150. Really, there is no reason not to have a home energy audit done if you live in an older home. The most common air leakage problems can be fixed with caulking, weather stripping and plug covers, and you will make back the $150 you spent in saved energy bills in just a couple of years. Plus you'll have the moral beneift of reducing your greenhouse gas emission footprint.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Free information to read before starting a renovation
There are no end to the books and magazines at the local book store on renovation and design. Unfortunately, just about all of them focus on how beautiful the house looks when the renovation is complete. Precious few deal with such mundane topics as how to hire a contractor, renovation contracts, air-leakage control, and so on.
Fortunately, there are a couple of government sites we found with great little booklets on just these topics.
The Canadian Housing and Mortgage Corporation offers a number of great booklets, including a "before you start..." series. These booklets outline a number of things you should know before you start renovating your basement, building a new addition, doing an energy-efficient retrofit,repairing your roof, replacing exterior walls, insulating your house, and many more. The pdf version can be downloaded directly from the site, or a free printed version can be ordered by calling the toll-free number.
Natural Resources Canada has a large portion of its website dedicated to residential improvements. The site has information on applying for grants and financial assistance, choosing appliances, picking heating, cooling and ventilation equipment, windows, doors and skylights, along with information on the Energystar program and the R-2000 building standard. There are tons of publications that can be ordered for free on topics such as controling air-leakage and improving window energy efficiency.
Both of these sites are great sites to check for free information before begining a renovation.
Fortunately, there are a couple of government sites we found with great little booklets on just these topics.
The Canadian Housing and Mortgage Corporation offers a number of great booklets, including a "before you start..." series. These booklets outline a number of things you should know before you start renovating your basement, building a new addition, doing an energy-efficient retrofit,repairing your roof, replacing exterior walls, insulating your house, and many more. The pdf version can be downloaded directly from the site, or a free printed version can be ordered by calling the toll-free number.
Natural Resources Canada has a large portion of its website dedicated to residential improvements. The site has information on applying for grants and financial assistance, choosing appliances, picking heating, cooling and ventilation equipment, windows, doors and skylights, along with information on the Energystar program and the R-2000 building standard. There are tons of publications that can be ordered for free on topics such as controling air-leakage and improving window energy efficiency.
Both of these sites are great sites to check for free information before begining a renovation.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Home Energy Audit
I was pleasantly surprised recently to find out that our new house is actually a lot more energy efficient than other houses of its age.
After an evaluation conducted by a home energy advisor, the house rates 69 points on the EnerGuide scale (a scale from 0 - 100, with 80-100 points being the most efficient category). The 69-point rating only puts the house in the mid-efficiency range, but when compared with other houses of its age, its quite good. The average energy efficiency rating for a house of this age in Ontario is 42, whereas the highest rating achieved by the most energy efficient houses in this category is 83.
With some relatively minor fixes of air leaks in the house, increasing the insulation in the attic, and changing to a high-efficiency furnace and a tankless hot water system, we can improve the energy efficiency rating of the house to 74, allowing us to save money on fuel bills, and reduce our GHG emissions by 1.5 Tonnes/year! Of course, we are planning some fairly major upgrades to the house, and sustainable living is a big theme of ours, so it will be really interesting to see what the EnerGuide rating is after the renovation.
The home energy audit program is sponsored by the Ontario Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources Canada. For about $300, a licensed home energy advisor will perform an audit on your house showing how the home uses energy and where it is being leaked. The audit 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 Audit, up to $150.
The audit will explain your home's energy use – attic to basement. A typical audit involves the following steps:
- A walk-through assessment of your home's insulation, heating and cooling systems and other energy uses
- A “blower door” depressurization test to identify leaks and drafts
- A personalized Energy Efficiency Evaluation Report
Many of the energy-saving upgrades identified by your Home Energy Audit will qualify you for rebates under the Home Energy Retrofit Program. These rebates from the Governments of Ontario and Canada can reimburse you up to $10,000 when you complete improvements identified by your audit. We have 18 months, or until March 31, 2011 to complete the improvements in order to qualify for the rebates.
To get started, go the the Ontario Ministry of Energy's website and search for a certified home evaluation company in your area. An appointment with a home energy advisor can usually be set up within two weeks. There is virtually nothing to loose by having it done, but just remember to do it before you start any renovations. Otherwise, you cannot claim the rebates.
Post Script: After publishing this post, I came across the my-green-home.ca - a site that tells how a local Ottawa home owner, Bill Eggertson, took his house built in 1985 and brought it up to 85 points on the EnerGuide scale. That's within the top 2% of all houses in Canada and even beyond the 80 point rating required for an R2000 home. In the future, the owner hopes to make the home completely energy neutral and carbon neutral by installing a photo-voltaic system on the roof and selling electricity back to the grid during periods when the power is not needed at home. It's a reminder that even older houses can be renovated up the highest energy efficiency standards. there is an article about Mr. Eggertson's home renovation journey in the December 12 issue of the Ottawa Citizen.
After an evaluation conducted by a home energy advisor, the house rates 69 points on the EnerGuide scale (a scale from 0 - 100, with 80-100 points being the most efficient category). The 69-point rating only puts the house in the mid-efficiency range, but when compared with other houses of its age, its quite good. The average energy efficiency rating for a house of this age in Ontario is 42, whereas the highest rating achieved by the most energy efficient houses in this category is 83.
With some relatively minor fixes of air leaks in the house, increasing the insulation in the attic, and changing to a high-efficiency furnace and a tankless hot water system, we can improve the energy efficiency rating of the house to 74, allowing us to save money on fuel bills, and reduce our GHG emissions by 1.5 Tonnes/year! Of course, we are planning some fairly major upgrades to the house, and sustainable living is a big theme of ours, so it will be really interesting to see what the EnerGuide rating is after the renovation.
The home energy audit program is sponsored by the Ontario Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources Canada. For about $300, a licensed home energy advisor will perform an audit on your house showing how the home uses energy and where it is being leaked. The audit 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 Audit, up to $150.
The audit will explain your home's energy use – attic to basement. A typical audit involves the following steps:
- A walk-through assessment of your home's insulation, heating and cooling systems and other energy uses
- A “blower door” depressurization test to identify leaks and drafts
- A personalized Energy Efficiency Evaluation Report
Many of the energy-saving upgrades identified by your Home Energy Audit will qualify you for rebates under the Home Energy Retrofit Program. These rebates from the Governments of Ontario and Canada can reimburse you up to $10,000 when you complete improvements identified by your audit. We have 18 months, or until March 31, 2011 to complete the improvements in order to qualify for the rebates.
To get started, go the the Ontario Ministry of Energy's website and search for a certified home evaluation company in your area. An appointment with a home energy advisor can usually be set up within two weeks. There is virtually nothing to loose by having it done, but just remember to do it before you start any renovations. Otherwise, you cannot claim the rebates.
Post Script: After publishing this post, I came across the my-green-home.ca - a site that tells how a local Ottawa home owner, Bill Eggertson, took his house built in 1985 and brought it up to 85 points on the EnerGuide scale. That's within the top 2% of all houses in Canada and even beyond the 80 point rating required for an R2000 home. In the future, the owner hopes to make the home completely energy neutral and carbon neutral by installing a photo-voltaic system on the roof and selling electricity back to the grid during periods when the power is not needed at home. It's a reminder that even older houses can be renovated up the highest energy efficiency standards. there is an article about Mr. Eggertson's home renovation journey in the December 12 issue of the Ottawa Citizen.
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