Energy rebate money still available despite federal cut

The federal taps might have run dry but Alberta still has rebates available for homeowners interested in improving the energy efficiency of their existing home or a new build that’s still at the planning stage.

There’s been “a lot of confusion in the marketplace” since the federal government quietly cut its ecoEnergy Retrofit program in late March, but Alberta still has six rebate programs that are open for business, said Fred Walter, director of energy efficiency and conservation with Climate Change Central, the body that administers Alberta’s rebate program.

“The provincial program is still available and we are still looking for people to participate,” he said.

The province offers a $100 rebate for the purchase of clothes washers that bear the ENERGY STAR® label, $400 to $600 for adopting high efficiency furnaces and boilers and up to $10,000 for EnerGuide labelled new homes that achieve certain rating thresholds.

The province also provides $100 off the cost of a home energy evaluation conducted before and after a retrofit. Switching to an on-demand or high efficiency water heater qualifies for rebates of $250 to $300, while insulation upgrades qualify for up to $3,150 in rebates.

Online applications are available for those seeking to apply for rebates on furnace upgrades and high efficiency washers. The first step towards accessing the other programs is to contact a certified energy advisor to set up a home evaluation. These are listed on the Natural Resources Canada website, Walter said.

Alberta rolled out its rebate program in April 2009 and has processed more than 55,000 rebates worth more than $11 million, Walter said. The program is scheduled to run until March 31, 2012 and it isn’t going away.

“The provincial government has indicated that they are not making any changes to their existing programs,” he said.

An energy evaluation involves a couple of hours in a home, said Len Koenig, a St. Albert-based certified energy advisor.

In that time, he will find all the air leaks, provide a book on fixing them and discuss the rebates that are available. Most of the fixes can be done easily and cheaply by the homeowners themselves, he said.

“I will go into some homes and 30 per cent of their heating bill is going out through all the cracks and holes I’ll find in their house,” he said.

For new homes, Koenig can assess their energy efficiency by seeing the plans and using a modelling software called HOT2000. The final EnerGuide rating depends on an air leakage test — involving a blower attached to the front door — and an assessment of the home’s overall energy consumption.

Koenig agrees that homeowners are confused about rebates. He spent much of his time at last weekend’s trade show explaining to people that there was provincial money still available.

“I did a little survey and probably 80 per cent of the people I talked to were unaware that there’s money still there,” he said.

Further detail about Alberta’s rebate program is available at www.climatechangecentral.com.