Look for Rebates!
November 5th, 2008 by 
sboles
A few days ago my office thermostat decided to call it quits. Besides the inconvenience of having to replace it, at least it provided me with something to write about in this edition of ‘The Buzz’. And I suppose I should be relieved that it decided to die during the fall. At least I have a few weeks before I’ll be using it full time. In the middle of winter I would have to make a frantic visit to the local hardware store before my office pipes froze.
Only a couple of days after the thermostat quit I received my natural gas bill. To my delight inside was a rebate coupon from my utility for $15 on the purchase of a programmable thermostat. This is just one example of the hundreds of rebates that are available to homeowners and businesses for new energy-efficient products and/or upgrades. These rebates can be up to several hundred dollars for some larger products like heating/cooling systems, appliances, and even automobiles.
If you are in the market for an energy-efficient product make sure you check out the websites of your local utility and government - it could save you money! Here are a few sites to get you started:
Environment Canada incentives and rebates database
DSIRE (Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Energy)
Posted in Energy Efficiency | 
January 20th, 2009 at 7:12 am
There are often local, state/provincial, or national grants available to people who have a home energy audit done, then do some home energy upgrades, then have a second audit done to gauge the progress they made making their home more energy efficient.
I had this done about six years ago, and I was surprised at how much the energy auditor found for me to do to improve my home. We started with the equivalent of a 14×14 inch square hole in our home - in terms of the amount of drafts - as measured by a blower door test. We were given a score of 40/100, low but not bad for an 80-year-old house. Two months later on the second audit - after extensive sealing of baseboards, door and window frames, and the attic hatch, plus window upgrades and insulation injected into ground floor walls - we had that square down to 6×6 inches and got a score of 60/100. The financial incentives were big enough without any grants - I would guess that our heating bill dropped about 20-30% that year - but we also got something like $1200 in rebates from the federal government and from our local gas utility.
Just remember to have the first energy audit done before you do any serious home energy upgrade - most grants based on an upgrade only qualify if an audit is done first by a licensed or recognized energy auditor.
January 21st, 2009 at 3:07 pm
Hi Robin,
Thanks for the great advice. Just last night I was at my first meeting of a group called Greendrinks (www.greendrinks.org) where I met London’s first eco-certified real estate agent. He told me a very similar story as yours - old house, initial low energy audit score, a number of actions taken, and a second audit score that improved by 30%. He also received a rebate of about 90% of the cost of his improved insulation that was installed. He also stressed the need for a qualified energy auditor to do the initial and follow-up work. I may have to write a post specifically about energy auditors soon - thanks again for the tip.