With colder months on our doorstep, are you thinking about how to save energy – and money – this winter?
The FREE Home Energy Navigator from the Capital Regional District is here to help.
Designed to streamline home energy upgrades, the Navigator provides unbiased advice to help homeowners reach their home upgrade goals within their budget. The program focuses on improving energy-efficiency and transitioning from fossil fuels, including natural gas, heating oil and propane, to ultra-efficient electric heating and cooling systems such as heat pumps.
Independent experts answer residents’ questions, provide support and offer local, objective advice and guidance, including:
- Home upgrades that can meet your goals and budget, without pressure to proceed.
- Upgrades that should be completed in conjunction with a heat pump.
- Reviewing and comparing contractor quotes to support informed choices.
- Identifying rebates and other financial programs available for proposed upgrades.
- Required documents and rebate application deadlines.
“Everyone deserves to live in a home that’s energy-efficient and comfortable year-round, and there’s currently a lot of government and utility financial support that can help get you there,” says Nikki Elliott, Manager of Climate Action Programs at the CRD. “For example, all homeowners can access rebates and most will qualify for up to $40,000 in interest-free loans.
“Depending on household income, residents may even be eligible to receive rebates that cover 60 to 95 per cent of their home energy upgrade costs, and a lot of residents aren’t aware of that,” Elliott says, noting that in the initiative’s first year, 592 residents from around the region accessed support through the Navigator program for their home energy upgrades.
“The Home Energy Navigator program aims to make it easier to go through the home upgrade process and determine which government and utility rebates are available.”
Big environmental benefits
Beyond saving you money on your monthly heating and cooling bills, home energy upgrades can bring significant environmental benefits – key as the CRD targets a 2038 goal of reducing community greenhouse gas emissions by 61 per cent reduction from 2007 levels.
Buildings – commercial, institutional and residential – account for about 35 per cent of the region’s GHG emissions, primarily due to their low level of efficiency and use of natural gas, heating oil and propane for space and water heating.
The good news: Despite a substantial increase in natural gas use in 2022, heating oil use reductions and continued greening of B.C.’s electricity grid led to a drop in emissions from buildings of about seven per cent below 2007 levels.
However, as building and transportation-related carbon pollution generated approximately 75 per cent of the region’s carbon pollution in 2022, significant work remains for the region to meet its carbon pollution targets, outlined in its 2021 Climate Action Strategy.
Initiatives like the Home Energy Navigator program are key to getting there.
Start your home efficiency journey today
Sign up for the Home Energy Navigator program and feel confident as you move to a more efficient, comfortable and climate-friendly home! Visit homeenergynav.ca or call