Planning an effective home energy retrofit can seem confusing if you are not familiar with the process, technologies and approaches used; planning is incredibly important to ensure a home energy retrofit achieves maximum outcomes. You need to select the right measures, do them in the right order, and have them installed properly.
Most of this is new to the average homeowner, so to help you navigate the basic steps, we’ve put together a simple, five-step plan to get you started.
Step 1: Get your home energy assessment
A home energy assessment will tell you how and where your home needs to be upgraded to save energy and become healthier and more comfortable for living. This is the place to start. A registered energy advisor will visit your home, ask you questions about your home and energy use, and then will provide you with a detailed report, including specific retrofit recommendations.
Energy Advisors have a wealth of information, and the cost is currently subsidized by the Greener Homes Program.
Step 2: Choose your path
Your Energy Advisor will provide you with a report that includes recommendations to improve your home. Now, it’s time for you to choose what you want to do.
Your choice may depend on your budget, the other renovations you would like to complete, or specific factors, like the age of your existing equipment. You can check out our detailed Retrofit Plan page to effectively map out your retrofit from the outside in.
At this stage you want to consider:
- Incentives
- Costs
- Future planning
- How to get the work done right
Planning an effective energy retrofit can be confusing! That’s why we have created a range of tools to ensure your planning goes well. Consider:
- BHO website resources
- NRCan ‘Plan Your Retrofit’
Step 3: Put your plan into action
You have a solid idea of what you want to achieve, and what the project will involve. Now you need to make it happen. This will involve four major steps:
- selecting and booking contractors
- applying for incentives and/or financing support
- purchasing the right equipment and materials
- checking for quality at every stage to make sure your project is done right
Step 4: The post-audit
Your retrofit is complete. The last step in completing your post-retrofit home assessment is to test exactly how much your home has improved (in terms of energy consumption) since your original assessment. This post-assessment is required for eligibility for most incentives. Just call the company that did your original home assessment and book your follow-up audit.
Once you have the results in hand, you can submit them to your financing and rebate programs.
Step 5: Living post-retrofit
You’ve done the work to reduce your household energy consumption and bring your home closer to zero emissions.
The planet and your pocketbook thank you. Now it’s time to maximize your gains and make sure your money translates into great savings.
Check out our Simple DIY Tips to get started on saving all you can.
Did you know…
Behaviour change in your newly retrofitted home can reduce your household energy consumption by as much as 12%.
Building forward
Your Energy Advisor may have provided you with stepped recommendations, outlining your next steps in two years, five years, or even ten years, to keep your home on track for net zero. Don’t forget to mark in your calendar or post on your fridge the important next steps, with dates, in your path to zero emissions.
It’s easier to plan than emergency-replace
If you know your fossil-fuel furnace is coming up for replacement in three years, now is the time to start planning the shift to a zero-emissions, high-efficiency heating system, like a cold-climate heat pump. You will get better deals, timely service, great advice, and far fewer headaches when you plan for your major equipment replacements well in advance. Don’t forget, there is no worse time to consider new energy-efficient technologies than when you are shivering in your home with a broken furnace on a cold winter day. If you’re serious about energy efficiency and emissions reductions, start your planning early and make sure it happens.
You can start today. Dig out the recommendations in your ‘best’ retrofit package and get planning for the future.
Share the wealth
Did you have a great retrofit experience? Your family, friends and neighbours are much more likely to make changes in their own homes when they know you have had success with yours.