Ener Guide Grant Program
User Manual:
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Natural Resources
Canada Ressources naturelles
Canada
EnerGuide for Houses
Grants for
Homeowners
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EnerGuide for Houses has been developed
by the Office of Energy Efficiency of Natural
Resources Canada (NRCan) to help home-
owners like you make home retrofit choices
that improve the comfort and energy
efficiency of your home.
Call in the energy experts
Advisors will show you
how to improve the
comfort of your home
and cut heating and
cooling costs.
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Independent energy advisors are available
to visit your home to identify how your
home uses energy and where it is being
wasted. Advisors will show you how to
improve the comfort of your home and cut
heating and cooling costs while ensuring
adequate ventilation for a healthy indoor
environment for your family.
NRCan has contracted with organizations
across Canada to make the EnerGuide for
Houses service widely available. By partially
subsidizing the delivery of the service, NRCan
has succeeded in keeping the cost to the home-
owner well below market value. The price of
the service varies because local governments
and private sector partners in some regions also
contribute toward the service’s delivery.
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The Government of Canada now provides
grants to homeowners who complete energy
efficiency retrofits based on EnerGuide for
Houses advisors’ recommendations.
The grant amount will depend on a compa-
rison of the pre-retrofit and post-retrofit
EnerGuide for Houses rating of the home.
Only homes that have been evaluated using
the EnerGuide for Houses service will be
eligible for grants.
You can
make a difference
Today, 17 percent of all energy use in Canada goes toward running our
homes. Every time we use energy from fossil fuels such as coal, oil and
gas we produce greenhouse gas emissions. By using less energy in
our homes, we help reduce the production of the greenhouses gas
emissions that contribute to climate change and harm our environment.
Nowadays, homes that are more than 25 years old have the potential to
save an average of 35 percent of their energy use. Homes that are more
than 50 years old could achieve even greater savings – an average of 38
percent. So far, more than 130 000 homeowners have used EnerGuide for
Houses to help identify and solve home comfort problems and plan their
energy efficiency retrofits. Natural Resources Canada data shows that if these
homeowners undertook all the retrofits recommended, they would reduce their
greenhouse gas emissions by almost 4.6 tonnes per year, per house. They
would also have a head start in meeting Canada’s One-Tonne Challenge –
a challenge proposed to all Canadians to reduce their greenhouse gas
emissions by one tonne per year (see page 14 for the Web site address).
Grants available for
energy efficiency retrofits
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To be eligible for a grant, you must have a pre-
retrofit evaluation done by an EnerGuide for
Houses advisor before starting any renovations, and
you must call your advisor to have a post-retrofit
evaluation done after most or all of the retrofits
have been completed.
How does EnerGuide
for Houses work?
The EnerGuide for Houses service includes
• a detailed energy evaluation of your home
carried out by a specially trained advisor
• a “blower door” test to find air leaks
• a printed report that shows where your energy
dollars are being spent and what you can do to
improve your home’s energy efficiency
• an EnerGuide for Houses rating label that
shows you how energy efficient your home is
compared with others
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Visit the EnerGuide
for Houses Web site or
call our toll-free line
to locate authorized
energy advisors.
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Your advisor will
review your report with
you, explain the details
and answer your
questions.
Your advisor will review your report with you,
explain the details and answer your questions.
EnerGuide for Houses is available across Canada
through a network of licensed organizations.
Simply call to make an appointment. Visit the
EnerGuide for Houses Web site or call our toll-
free line, both noted at the end of this booklet,
to locate authorized energy advisors that serve
your area.
EnerGuide for Houses is not a pre-purchase
home inspection – it deals specifically with
energy efficiency. If you are concerned about
the general condition of your home,
EnerGuide for Houses advisors will recom-
mend that you call a home inspector.
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When should you use
EnerGuide for Houses?
Does your home have comfort problems such as drafts, cold
spots
and frosted windows?
Find the source of these problems and get information about repairing them.
Renovating or retrofitting?
EnerGuide for Houses advisors use state-of-the-art evaluation practices
and can advise on the best modern techniques and types of products.
Upgrading your heating and cooling system?
Energy efficiency improvements can make a difference to the size of
heating and cooling system that your home needs.
Selling your house?
After you’ve made energy efficiency upgrades and comfort improvements
to your home, the revised EnerGuide for Houses label shows potential
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The benefits of
EnerGuide for Houses
Peace of mind
Our energy advisors provide unbiased advice
on how to improve your home’s energy use.
The service is also quality-assured by the
Government of Canada.
Understanding your options
The EnerGuide for Houses service provides
a thorough basement-to-attic assessment of
your home’s energy use. The energy advisor’s
written report will help you to plan retrofits
and estimate the cost of professional
renovations.
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Proof of upgrades
After you have completed energy upgrades,
our experts will provide a second evaluation
and an EnerGuide for Houses rating label that
proves your home’s improved energy use.
Grants toward your retrofit
expenses
Only homes that have had pre- and post-
retrofit evaluations from EnerGuide for
Houses are eligible for grants.
Taking action to prevent
climate change
The use of energy from fossil fuels is a major
cause of greenhouse gas emissions that con-
tribute to climate change. Canadians are
being asked to reduce their greenhouse gas
emissions by one tonne per year through the
One-Tonne Challenge. By using less energy,
you can make your contribution to help
protect our environment.
The energy advisor’s
written report will help
you to plan retrofits and
estimate the cost of pro-
fessional renovations.
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Who is eligible
for grants?
For full details on eligibility, consult your local
EnerGuide for Houses service organization.
You can request a copy of complete eligibility
criteria from NRCan’s toll-free publications
line, or you can view them on-line by visiting
our Web site (see page 14). Here are the main
criteria:
•You can apply for a grant only for a
home that you own, provided it is your
primary residence. This includes detached,
semi-detached and row houses as well as
mobile homes on a permanent foundation.
•Grants are available for work done within
a specific time frame, so it is important to
talk to your local service organization about
the eligibility of your house as soon as you
are ready to plan and undertake your energy
efficiency retrofits.
•Only houses that have pre- and post-
retrofit EnerGuide for Houses ratings will
be eligible, and you will be able to apply
only once per house. To find the name of
an authorized EnerGuide for Houses service
organization in your region, contact NRCan
or visit the EnerGuide for Houses Web site.
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It is you – the
homeowner – who
decides what retrofits
recommended by your
EnerGuide advisor
you wish to under-
take.
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•Eligible homes must meet a certain level of
improvement in order to qualify for a grant.
EnerGuide for Houses advisors will be able
to tell you which retrofits will have the greatest
effect on your home’s efficiency. The greater
the improvement in your home’s energy
efficiency, the more your grant will be.
It is you – the homeowner – who decides what
retrofits recommended by your EnerGuide advi-
sor you wish to undertake. You are responsible
for choosing a contractor and for ensuring that
the work is performed properly. It is important
that you get a detailed written contract between
you and your contractor in order to prevent
problems later on. The EnerGuide for Houses
service does not assess the quality of the work
performed – it evaluates only the retrofit’s
impact on the energy efficiency rating of
your home.
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How do I apply
for a grant?
It’s easy. Your EnerGuide for Houses advisor
will apply for the grant on your behalf after
you have completed energy efficiency retro-
fits and your home has been re-assessed. Your
advisor will prepare the paperwork for you
to sign and will be able to assess exactly how
much you can expect to receive. Your energy
advisor will then forward your application to
NRCan.
Grants will range from about $116 to as much
as $3,348, depending on how much work has
been done. For example, the average Canadian
home rates at 62 on the EnerGuide for Houses
scale and has the potential to improve to a rating
of 73. Improving a house’s energy efficiency by
this amount would result in a grant of approxi-
mately $619. After you have had your initial
evaluation done, you can calculate the amount
of your potential grant by using the grant cal-
culator on our Web site.
You can expect to receive your cheque
within 90 days of your follow-up evaluation.
Your EnerGuide for
Houses advisor will
apply for the grant
on your behalf.
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EnerGuide is more than a name
– it’s a way of life
EnerGuide is the official Government of Canada mark that rates the energy
consumption of products for the home, at work and on the road. Look for the
EnerGuide label on major household appliances, gas fireplaces and room air
conditioners. You can also find EnerGuide ratings printed on the back of
manufacturers’ brochures for furnaces, heat pumps and central air condition-
ers. Many older houses, some new homes and all new vehicles now carry
the EnerGuide label. A good rating is your proof of more efficient energy per-
formance. Read the EnerGuide label and make the energy-efficient choice.
CMHC Refund on Mortgage
Loan Insurance Premiums
Effective November 18, 2004, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
(CMHC) is offering a 10 percent refund on its
mortgage loan insurance premium to homeowners
who borrow money to complete the energy
retrofits recommended in their EnerGuide for
Houses report. Starting January 1, 2005, you
could also extend the time required to repay your
mortgage – from 25 years to a maximum of
35 years. For you to qualify for this refund and
extension, the home’s energy efficiency must be
rated using the EnerGuide for Houses system or
be R-2000 certified and meet certain minimum
requirements. Visit CMHC’s Web site at
www.cmhc.ca or call 1 800 668-2642 for more
information. Your lender will also have details on
this new initiative.
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Schedule your
evaluation today!
EnerGuide for Houses is offered in cooperation with professional
residential energy efficiency organizations across Canada. Call the
EnerGuide for Houses service organization in your area today to find
out the cost of the evaluation and schedule an appointment. For the
name of a service organization in your region, visit our Web site or
call our toll-free publications line.
Web site:
energuideforhouses.gc.ca
One-Tonne Challenge:
climatechange.gc.ca
Publications line:
1 800 387-2000 (toll-free)
995-2943 (National Capital Region)
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ISBN 0-662-34977-6
Cat. No. M144-13/2003E
© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 2004
Publication date: November 2004
Aussi disponible en français sous le titre :
ÉnerGuide pour les maisons
Subventions aux propriétaires de maison
Learn more
To obtain additional copies of this
or other free publications on energy
efficiency, please contact
Energy Publications
Office of Energy Efficiency
Natural Resources Canada
c/o S.J.D.S.
1770 Pink Road
Gatineau QC J9J 3N7
Tel.: 1 800 387-2000 (toll-free)
995-2943 (National Capital Region)
Fax: (819) 779-2833
Web site: oee.nrcan.gc.ca/infosource
Recycled
paper
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Leading Canadians to Energy Efficiency at Home, at Work and on the Road
The Office of Energy Efficiency of Natural Resources Canada
strengthens and expands Canada’s commitment to energy efficiency
in order to help address the challenges of climate change.
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