Live Green Style

Thinking of ways to make your home more energy efficient?
Renovating your home?
Selling or buying a house?

Then go green and save money with these green incentives and grants:

1. Grant ecoENERGY
2. Provincial, territorial and municipal grants and incentives
3. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) Mortgage Loan Insurance Refund (Home purchase/construction)
4. Energy-Efficient Housing Program
5. Home Renovation Tax Credit
6. ENERGY STAR Rebates and Incentives

1. Retrofit Your Home and Qualify for a ecoENERGY Grant

To help homeowners save energy, save money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the Canadian Government has created the ecoENERGY Retrofit Program. The program awards homeowners with rebates of up to $5,000 for home energy improvements. This matches up to $5,000 available from the Ontario Home Energy Retrofit Program- for a total of up to $10,000.
See the list of provincial, territorial and municipal entities offering grants and incentives below.

Sounds good, isn’t it? But how real this grant and what exactly do I need to do to get it?

It was reported on February 27, 2009 by Natural Resources Canada that
Due to the greater-than-expected number of Canadians participating in the program in its first year, some homeowners have experienced delays in receiving their cheques. has resumed payment of retrofit grants to Canadian homeowners.
This is the good evidence, that program works and help homeowners to cut their energy costs, emissions and get some cash back from the government.
Because of the immediate and lasting benefits to homeowners, the economy and environment, Canada’s Economic Action Plan includes an additional $300 million for the ecoENERGY Retrofit-Homes program. This will allow as many as 200,000 more homeowners to participate in the program over the next two years.

Here’s what you can do to reduce your energy consumption and receive grants through ecoENERGY Retrofit:

1. Before you undertake any energy efficiency renovations, hire a Natural Resources Canada certified energy advisor to perform an energy evaluation of your home. The advisor will give you a pre-retrofit evaluation report and an EnerGuide rating label for your home.
2. Select your improvements and implement the recommended energy upgrades, leaving time to ensure your post-retrofit evaluation is completed within 18 months or before March 31, 2011, (whichever comes first).
3. Call your energy advisor to perform your post-retrofit evaluation, to confirm your new energy rating and to submit your grant application.
4. Wait no more than 90 days of your post-retrofit evaluation to receive your cheque.

Here are examples of improvements that are covered under ecoENERGY Retrofit Homes: Replace your heating system with an ENERGY STAR® qualified oil or gas boiler that has an 85.0% AFUE or better – $600 grant amount; Install a CAN/CSA-C448 compliant earth-energy system (ground or water source) -$3,500 grant amount; Replace the heat pump unit of an existing earth-energy system (ground or water source). The system must be compliant with CAN/CSA-C448 – $1,400 grant amount.

To see more eligibility requirements, check eligibility requirements in order to qualify for a grant.

2. Provincial, territorial and municipal entities offering grants and incentives

Nova Scotia

• Government of Nova Scotia

New Brunswick

• Government of New Brunswick

Prince Edward Island

• Government of Prince Edward Island

Quebec

• Energy Efficiency Fund
• Hydro-Québec
• Gaz Métro
• Gazifère (available in French only)

Ontario

• Home Energy Ontario
• Ontario Power Authority
• Enbridge Gas Distribution

Manitoba

• Province of Manitoba and Manitoba Hydro

Saskatchewan

• Government of Saskatchewan

Alberta

• City of Edmonton

British Columbia

• LiveSmart BC: Efficiency Incentive Program
• FortisBC

Northwest Territories

• Arctic Energy Alliance

3. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) Mortgage Loan Insurance Refund (Home purchase/construction)

CMHC offers a 10% premium refund on its mortgage loan insurance premiums(e.g., approximately $550 for a $200,000 mortgage with a 5% down payment), as well as extended amortizations to a maximum of 40 years (subject to lender availability) without regular premium surcharges, (e.g. approximately $1,200 for a $200,000 mortgage amortized over 40 years) to individuals who use CMHC-insured financing to purchase an energy efficient home, purchase a home and make energy-saving renovations, or renovate their existing home to make it more energy efficient.
For more information go to Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation

4. Energy-Efficient Housing Program

Qualifying home buyers can receive a 10 per cent refund on their Genworth-insured mortgages premium.

Through the Energy-Efficient Housing Program, home buyers purchasing an energy-efficient home or refinancing an existing home to make energy-saving renovations with Genworth-insured mortgages are now eligible to receive a 10 per cent premium refund.

Homes built under the following programs will qualify for the 10 percent premium refund without the requirement for an individual EnerGuide evaluation:

• Built Green (TM) Alberta Gold Label Homes
• Novoclimat (MC) (Quebec)
• EnergyStar (R) (Ontario)
• Power Smart (TM) (Manitoba)
• R-2000 (National)

For more information go to Energy-Efficient Housing Program

5. Home Renovation Tax Credit

The proposed HRTC is a non-refundable tax credit for work performed or goods acquired in respect of an eligible dwelling.
The credit will only be available for the 2009 tax year and applies to eligible expenditures of more than $1,000, but not more than $10,000, resulting in a maximum credit of $1,350 ($9,000 x 15%).

To be eligible, expenditures incurred in relation to a renovation or alteration to an eligible dwelling (or the land that forms part of the eligible dwelling) must be of an enduring nature and integral to the dwelling, and includes the cost of labour and professional services, building materials, fixtures, rentals, and permits. Eligible expenditures must be supported by acceptable documentation.

Some examples of eligible expenditures: Renovating a kitchen, bathroom or basement; New carpet or hardwood floors; Building an addition, garage, deck, garden/storage shed, fence; Re-shingling a roof; A new furnace, woodstove, boiler, fireplace, water softener or water heater; A new driveway or resurfacing a driveway; Painting of interior or exterior of a house; Window coverings directly attached to the window frame and whose removal would alter the nature of the dwelling; Laying new sod; Swimming Pools (Permanent – in ground and above ground); Fixtures – lights, fans, etc.; Associated costs such as permits, professional services, equipment rentals and incidental expenses.

A new line will be incorporated in the 2009 personal income tax return allowing to claim the credit.
For more information go to Home Renovation Tax Credit

6. ENERGY STAR Rebates and Incentives

Check out Details on Rebates and Incentives for Selected ENERGY STAR® Qualified Products in Canada

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Related articles:

1. You Can Save Thousands With a Green Home
2. Government of Canada Honours Fuel-Efficient Vehicle Award Winners
3. Go Green and Save: Green Auto Incentives and Rebates from Canada and Federal Government
4. Grants for home energy-efficiency retrofits increased by 25 percent
5. 8 financial grants and incentives for affordable green homeownership

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