Starting January 2023 Canada Greener Homes Grant partners up with Enbridge Home Efficiency Rebate Program in Ontario expanding incentives at the same time. It is now called Home Efficiency Rebate Plus (HER+) – You Can and Should Take Advantage

In January 2023, Enbridge Gas and Canada’s Greener Homes Grant will partner to provide rebates towards eligible retrofits such as home insulation, windows and doors, heat pumps, and renewable energy systems. The new, coordinated Home Efficiency Rebate Plus program will help more Ontarians save energy at home. This is great news for residents across the province, including current Enbridge Gas customers who use natural gas to heat their homes and will benefit from enhanced rebates of up to $10,000. Participants can also offset the cost of their EnerGuide home evaluation with an additional rebate up to $600.

We’re excited here at AZTech because HER+ upgrades include our specialty – windows and doors. Here’s what you need to know about this new opportunity here in Ontario.

How the HER+ Program Works

Eligible home energy efficiency upgrades – such as the replacement of windows and doors – can get you as the homeowner up to $5,000 back from the HER+ program. It’s a double win; not only are you improving the energy performance of your home while lowering your energy bills, you’re also getting money back from the government for the completed work. It’s a great way to shorten the payback time on your home’s energy efficiency upgrades.

So, if you’ve been considering window replacement, both for energy efficiency and aesthetic reasons, that work can qualify for the grant, if you pair it with one other area of your home. You’ll be improving your home comfort, increasing the resale value of your home, and paying less on your energy bills by making such upgrades. There are also bonus upgrades if you choose to do more than two areas of your home – the more qualifying upgrades you make, the more bonus money you are eligible for in terms of a rebate.

The Steps You Take to Take Advantage of the HER+ Program

Enbridge Gas is showing its commitment to the environment by offering the HER+ program as an extension of the CGHC program, to both Enbridge customers and non-customers. Any homeowner can take advantage of the HER+ program through Enbridge, by taking the following steps – which they will be happy to help you with:

Get a home energy assessment completed by a registered energy advisor.

This will outline the areas you could be upgrading in your home for better energy performance, and that would qualify for the HER+ rebate program.

Get the complete report on your home’s energy efficiency

From your registered energy advisor. It will have the recommended upgrades you could make to your home.

Get the eligible work done as outlined in your completed home energy efficiency report

Remember that you need to complete at least two components in your home – for example, window & door replacement, and exterior insulation.

Complete your follow-up energy assessment

Once the work is completed, you’ll confirm that you have improved your home’s energy efficiency through this step.

Receive your rebate

The money will come to you within twelve weeks. One additionally nice thing is that you will also receive up to $600 back for the initial energy assessment – so you’re not out any money for taking the initial step.

A Great Way to Save on Your Energy Bills – the HER+ Program through Enbridge

We are fully behind this program because we too believe in improving energy efficiency for all homeowners. We are very aware of how important windows and doors are to overall home energy efficiency, and we are proud to be a part of any such program.

We’ve mentioned that the program is open even to non-Enbridge customers. That said, for Enbridge customers, there are some enhanced features, including gas bill rebates, along with expanded eligibility for the types of dwellings that qualify for the rebate program. These will include:

• Multi-Unit Residential Building (MURB) under 6000 sq. ft. and less than three stories
• Joint commercial/residential building where residential space is 50%+.
• Single-unit rental home which is supplied by Enbridge

It’s important to note also that this rebate program is 100% above board and government-backed. Enbridge points out that they do not promote this program through door-to-door promoting, or via telemarketing. A registered energy advisor will only knock at your door when you have initiated an appointment as part of the HER+ program.

We hope you’ve found this summary of the coming Home Efficiency Rebate program through Enbridge informative. We’d be happy to hear from you – please contact us with your comments and questions.

Canada Greener Homes Grants application is a relatively simple process. The government has recognized the dramatical raise of energy costs, so they’ve made this program available. Here are some questions and answers pertaining to this important program.

What is the Canada Greener Homes Grants Program?

This is grant money specifically geared to Canadians for the purpose of upgrading their homes to be more energy efficient. In short – there’s free money up for grabs for you to make improvements to your home, which should make it more comfortable and less expensive to run, energy-wise. Let’s take a further look.

What’s Covered by the Canada Greener Homes Grants Program?

The program covers improvement to your home which make it more energy efficient, including:

• Adding solar panels
• Upgrading your furnace or heating system
• Adding insulation
• Upgrading windows
• Any other approved energy upgrades for the home

This means you have quite a bit of flexibility; you can choose the types of upgrades that fit best with your particular situation, because we know that “one size fits all” does not work with housing – there are so many types, ages, and conditions out there in our residential buildings.

How Does the Canada Greener Homes Grants Program Work?

It’s fairly simple – if you own a property that qualifies you can receive up to $5,000 back from the government on approved energy upgrades you make to it – plus another $600 back for the required evaluation you must pay for up front and submit.

Who is Eligible for the Grants?

You’re eligible for the Canada Greener Homes Grants program if you can satisfy two requirements:

• That you can prove that you own your home by providing a property tax bill number with your name on it
• That you can show the dwelling you plan to upgrade is your primary residence – for example by showing a utility bill with your name on it

The following types of properties may qualify for a grant:

• Single detached home
• Semi-detached home
• Row house
• Townhouse
• Cottage (all season, primary residence)
• A mobile home on a permanent foundation
• A floating home which is permanently moored
• The residential portion of a mixed use building
• Small apartment type buildings (3 storey or less)

Again, the scope of this program is wide ranging – you can see that many types of residential dwellings may qualify. But time is urgent! Very few of the original 700,000 grants are still available. 

What are the Steps to Apply for the Canada Greener Homes Grants Program?

Here are the steps you’ll need to take to take advantage of the Canada Greener Homes Grants program: it’s actually not all that complicated, but you do have do the steps right, and in the proper order to ensure you get your grant:

1 – Make sure the place you live in qualifies for a grant

We’ve outlined eligible property types and the proof you need to show that you own your dwelling.

2 – Get your EnerGuide Evaluation done

There are various service organizations you can through to complete this step; it will ensure the work you intend to do qualifies for the grant rebate money. Important – this is a pre-retrofit evaluation; don’t go ahead and do the work first.

3 – There is actually a Canada Greener Homes Loan program

You may want to check Canada Greener Homes Loan program out if you don’t have the cash up front, but are interested in doing energy upgrades to your home; the loans are interest-free.

4 – Once you get your EnerGuide Evaluation report

Proceed with the work that’s been approved.

5 – Post retrofit EnerGuide Evaluation

Once the work is completed you need to go back to your source for the initial evaluation and get the okay that all the energy upgrade work was completed as specified.

6 – Send your completed work documentation into the government

This is your actual request for the grant.

7 – Receive your grant money from the government

Up to $5,000 for the retrofit work and an additional $600 for the evaluation process which you paid for up front.

Is the Canada Greener Homes Grants Program Worth It?

This program is well worth looking into – it’s essentially free money back for:

• Doing the right thing and helping the environment by lowering your energy use.
• Improving your home comfort in many instances.
• Lowering your energy bills – the upgrades you make will eventually pay for themselves.
• Potentially increasing the resale value of your home

So there are a number of good reasons why you might consider it. It’s not every day the government offers up free money!

Final Thoughts – the Canada Greener Homes Grants Program

We get questions all the time about the programs out there for homeowners that can help pay for upgrades, such as:

• How to get help with grant applications.
• What the time limits are for grants and rebates.
• Whether a new window installation qualifies or not.
• How to assess a home for energy loss.
• Comparing energy rates in a particular area.
• Other incentives to upgrade to a highly energy efficient home such as a net zero home.
• What retrofits are and how they can help.

We know it can all seem a little daunting. We are here to help, as your resource for navigating the Canada Greener Homes Grants Program, and any other programs or incentives which may also be out there. We stay on top of these things!