As the Ottawa's chilly winter continues, does the heating bill burn an increasing hole in your family's wallet? You're not alone: the planet is also suffering from energy loss as Canadians try to shield their home from the elements. In fact, the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions comes from heating and cooling your homes, offices and other buildings. Fortunately, you can take actions in your own homes to cut energy cost, save money, and reduce emissions with the help of the following initiatives from the Green Ontario Fund.
Rebates for Insulation and High-Performance Windows
The Green Ontario Fund is offering up to $7,200 in rebates when you install or upgrade your insulation. Using participating contractors, you can reduce the energy loss in the attic, basement or exterior walls and fight climate change while saving money. Find out how here.
If you are replacing windows, consider getting high-performance windows. Designed to reduce energy loss, condensation and noise, high-performance windows can reduce energy cost and increase home resale value. You can receive $500/window in rebates, to a maximum total of $5000, on select high-performance windows.
Rebates for home geothermal system
Ground-source heat pumps (GSHPs), also known as home geothermal, use the underground temperature of the earth to draw heat to warm your home more efficiently, which can reduce heating costs by up to 50 per cent. In the summer, it reverses the cycle to keep your home cool and comfortable. You can receive up to $20,000 in rebates to install or upgrade to an ENERGY STAR ® Certified GSHP system.
Rebates for air-source heat pumps
Air-source heat pumps (ASHPs) uses heat exchangers to draw heat from the outside air during winter and warm your home, and reject heat in the summer and keep your house cool. Heating and cooling your home more efficiently, ASHPs can cut your heating cost by up to 50% compared to an electric furnace, lower your carbon footprint, reduce pollen, dust and dirt in your house, and dehumidify more effectively. The Green Ontario Fund is offering up to $5,800 in rebates when you install an air-source heat pump system with a participating contractor.There are many more ways you can take action against climate change in your daily lives, including:
Conducting home energy audits and retrofitting your home
As part of the Ontario Home Energy Conservation Incentive Program (OHECIP), participants are eligible for a rebate on their first energy audit to determine which efficiency changes (retrofits) are best suited to your home or building. The quick audit will reveal areas where you can make improvements to lower your energy bills and increase home comfort. Then it's time to save energy, money and fight climate change with your retrofits! Click here to get started!
OHECIP offers participants who complete an energy audit up to $1,600 in rebates for energy audit and retrofit renovations.
One of the easiest ways to save energy (and money!) is by installing a smart thermostat. It uses sensors to monitor your usage patterns and determine the most efficient schedule of heating and cooling for your home. Energy savings can be up to 25%! OHECIP provides a $100 rebate on thermostats from Nest, Ecobee and Honeywell until December 31, 2018.
Commuting smarter with an electric vehicle or a bicycle
Thinking of buying a new car? Now is the perfect time to invest in an all-electric vehicle (EV) in Ontario. With a range of vehicles to chose from, the province offers a rebate of up to $14,000 for buying or leasing an EV.
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Protected / Separated bicycle lane on Dunsmuir Street, downtown Vancouver, Canada[/caption]
Passionate about cycling? The government of Ontario is committing up to $225 million in provincial funding for commuter cycling infrastructure. Be part of the change, and sign our commuter cycling pledge!
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