Home Energy Assessments
ecoENERGY Retrofit - Homes Program Now Closed
January 29, 2012: The federal government has announced that the ecoENERGY Retrofit - Homes program has reached its goal of 250,000 registered homeowners and is now closed to new registrations.
"The deadline to obtain the post-retrofit evaluation is now June 30, 2012. All upgrades must still be completed by March 31, 2012 to be eligible. Only upgrades purchased and installed between the program eligibility dates of June 6, 2011 to March 31, 2012, will be considered for a grant and must be validated with receipts dated between those dates. "
According to the website, registration is also closed for returning participants. People who have already registered are still eligible for the program as long as they have their first audit and work completed by March 31. They can schedule the 2nd audit up to June 30, but are strongly advised to schedule it earlier.
For more information go to: http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/residential/personal/retrofit/17864. If you are a client of REAL's and have questions, please call Sue at 613-283-9500.
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Those meeting the criteria are eligible for up to $5,000 in grants to make their homes more energy efficient.
The first step is to register with the federal program before arranging your audit. See http://www.ecoaction.gc.ca/homes.
REAL delivers the ecoEnergy for Homes through a license agreement with our national organization, Green Communities Canada.
REAL would be pleased to arrange an audit for you. Contact REAL at (613) 283-9500. Please be prepared to leave a message as our office is staffed part-time. Or e-mail us.
Important: Only products purchased after June 6, 2011, and installed after a pre-retrofit evaluation are eligible for an ecoENERGY grant. All energy retrofits and post-retrofit evaluations must be completed by March 31, 2012. Homeowners who participated in the program between April 1, 2007 and June 5, 2011, and who did not receive the maximum amount of $5,000 can submit another application for improvements purchased and installed after June 6, 2011.
In addition to the Full Home Energy Audit, REAL offers energy audit services that will not qualify you for grants, but will give you a better understanding of your home . A blower door test or thermography reading will help you determine energy-saving solutions that will genuinely benefit you.
Rising Home Energy Costs? Cold and Drafty House?
Figure Out the Problems with your Home……
Get Solutions from REAL’s Independent Home Energy Efficiency Expert
Where is your home actually losing energy? - What can you do to most effectively reduce energy costs?
- Why is it better to hire an independent expert to advise you rather than someone who wishes to sell you something?
We have answers and would like the opportunity to help you make your home as healthy, comfortable and inexpensive to live in as possible.
Below are the services we offer. We are happy to discuss your home and how we can best help you in your specific situation. We will not sell you a service you don’t need and will always give you the best value for your hard-earned money.
Our mandate is to promote REAL environmental change in our community and making your house more energy efficient benefits us all!
REAL Offers the following services:
- Full Home Energy Audit -- 2-3+ hours onsite
- Walk-through Blower Door/Air leakage Test –1 hour onsite
- Walk-through Infrared Thermography during Energy Audit -- 30 minutes
- Full Infrared Thermography Assessment and Report –2-3 hours onsite
All fees tax-free! Very large or complicated houses may require an additional fee for all services listed.
About our Certified Energy Auditor. Alan Leonard, has 25+ years experience in construction and renovation, and five years experience in home energy auditing. He is knowledgeable, thorough and conscientious and wants the best for you and our natural environment. Alan has extensive education and training in building science and construction and is always striving to expand his knowledge further with additional courses and research. He is an ASNT Level 1 Infrared Thermographer.
To arrange an appointment, please call (613) 283-9500 and leave a message, or e-mail Susan Brandum.
Full Home Energy Audit - 2-3+ hours onsite $350 (net cost $200)
Ontario provides an incentive grant of $150 to homeowners who have an energy audit done by a Certified Energy Advisor. This makes your actual cost of an audit only $200! This has been the initial audit required to access federal and Ontario grants (along with a follow-up confirmation audit.)
- Collect detailed information of house characteristics from basement to attic
- Assess levels of insulation
- Advise on lowering electricity use
- Determine status of heating and A/C equipment
- Assess low or high humidity, condensation and ventilation issues
- Advise on ventilation and heat distribution
- Conduct Blower Door Test with air leakage investigation of house and advise on effective draftproofing and methods and materials
- Discuss my preliminary findings and recommendations onsite
- You also get a comprehensive written report, prepared and mailed or emailed within the week, including:
- Analysis of heat loss/gain, computer simulation model of building energy use
- Specific recommendations in order of priority for your house for efficiency improvements
- Expert and independent advice on how to increase the efficiency, comfort and durability of your home
- Recommendations that will get you the best return on your investment
- Information about grants, rebates, incentives
- Energuide for Houses efficiency rating label
- 1 year follow-up phone or email consultation with auditor
Walk-through Blower Door/Air leakage Test –1 hour onsite $200
- Investigate house with you to determine exactly where air leakage and heat loss is occurring and to find potential moisture damage to structure/insulation
- Advise on the most effective ways to draft proof your home and which materials and methods to use
- Verify air sealing work done by contractors and perform quality control on construction, do pre-drywall air tightness testing so that any deficiencies can be solved inexpensively and with minimal disruption of project
Walk-through Infrared Thermography During Energy Audit - 30 minutes add $115
- Non-destructive way to determine insulation deficiencies behind walls, floors and ceilings
- Find air infiltration behind a finished surface or where the leaky area is out of reach and that can’t be perceived with the blower door alone
- Discover moisture intrusion and plumbing leaks in structure
Full Infrared Thermography Assessment and Report –2-3 hours onsite $495 Outdoor and indoor infrared camera images of building
Non-destructive way to determine thermal irregularities and deficiencies in structure such as missing or degraded insulation, air leakage behind finished surfaces and moisture issues in structure- Conducted with blower door to accentuate the cooling or heating effect of air leakage in conditioned space of house as well as in floor, wall and ceiling cavities
- Discussion of infrared camera images and findings onsite
- Infrared photographic record of your home
- Written report with my findings and recommendations including infrared photos
- Particularly beneficial for houses which have experienced many varied renovations and/or additions and as quality control for new houses or additions
There must be a temperature difference of about 5.5 degrees C or 10 degrees F from inside to the outside to get good thermal images. This may mean that on some occasions IR thermography is not possible. With heating or air conditioning it is often possible to overcome this limitation.
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