Home Energy Efficiency

Steps to Home Energy Efficiency

Renovating your home for energy efficiency can help improve the comfort, climate resilience and indoor air quality of your home while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We’ve put together some resources that can help your project succeed.  

Now’s a great time to be improving the efficiency of your home as the province and the Regional District of Nanaimo have funding programs available to help cover the costs.  

To help support you through the retrofit process, we’ve developed a comprehensive guide designed to walk you through each step. This guide serves as a roadmap, providing clear directions and valuable insights to make your retrofit journey smoother. It includes helpful, sources and a list of various available rebates, ensuring you have the necessary support and financial incentives to successfully navigate every stage of the process.  

If you would like a printable version of this list, download our Steps to Home Energy Efficiency Guide.  

Step One: Define Your Priorities and Budget  

Don’t miss out on opportunities. Identify the upgrades your home will need over the next 30 years and plot them on a timeline (e.g., roof, heating system, window and siding replacements, draining improvements, etc.). These are opportunities to improve energy efficiency when it’s most economical. For example:  

  • If you are replacing your siding, save time and money by adding more external insulation at the same time  
  • If you are excavating to fix drainage around your foundation, that is a great time to add exterior foundation insulation  

Taking this strategic approach can help reduce costs of energy upgrades by avoiding re-work, and taking advantage of projects you already need to do:  

  • Think about all the changes you’d like for your home, not just energy efficiency 
  • Get a sense of rebates available to help, making sure you read the eligibility requirements for each rebate 
  • Use CleanBC’s Energy Coaches or the RDN’s Home Energy Navigator program to help you sort things out.  

Check out the following resources to help you start your rebate journey  

Step Two: Evaluate Your Home with an Energy Advisor 

Energy Advisors are training in building and technology methods for evaluating and improving home energy efficiency. They can help you make informed decisions based on potential energy savings, your budget and the needs of your home.  

Most of the costs of your home assessment and EnerGuide evaluations may be covered through federal and RDN rebate programs. Apply early to avoid missing out on available funding.  

To get the most out of your home assessment:  

  • Prepare your questions beforehand  
  • Discuss your main priorities with you Energy Advisor  
  • Use the instructions your Energy Advisor gives you  

The best way to book and Energy Advisor is to read out to them directly. You can search Better Homes BC to find an Energy Advisor in your area.  

Step Three: Refine Your Plan  

Plan your renovation in stages to reduce costs and make the process easier. This planning process could look like:  

  • Creating a replacement timeline: look at the age and likely lifespan of different parts of your home. Develop a timeline of when they may need replacing. Some parts may only need replacing every 20 to 40 years (like the roof or siding). Save time and money by doing other energy upgrades at the same time.  
  • Consultation: ask your contractor or Energy Advisor to comment on your plan and suggest any changes to the order of renovations. Make sure your end goals are clear (e.g., Net Zero, high air quality, etc.).  
  • Contractor strategies: ask your contractor to make sure the changes they make to your home now will make it easy to do other upgrades later. For example, if they’re putting new insulation and siding on your house, they should do it in a way that make it easy to add new windows later.  

Step Four: Work With a Contractor  

Working with the right contractor will help get the most out of your renovation and reduce risks. To help find the right contractor, consider the following:  

Step Five: Confirm Performance  

Request a follow-up assessment to evaluate the improvements made by your renovations. This can help determine in air sealing was effective, and tells you your post-upgrade energy efficiency, which can be useful for home resale value. Rebates are available to help cover the cost of a follow-up assessment and completing one is required for the Canada Greener Homes Grant.  

Step Six: Apply for Rebates   

If you have questions about provincial or federal rebate programs, consider calling a BC Energy Coach. They are specially trained to help people understand and access provincial rebates and can supply some information on federal rebates. To contact a BC Energy Coach:  

You can also sign up for the Home Energy Navigator Program. This free program can help you navigate rebates, find program contractors, provide application support and quote comparisons, and more. To sign up, visit the Home Energy Navigator website. 

Federal Government Programs 

  • Funding up to $10,000 

This program is administered by the Federal Government of Canada. Questions about this program should be directed to the federal government. To find out if you qualify, visit the  Oil to Heat Pump Affordability program.  

Provincial Programs  

  • Funding up to $11,000 

This program is administered by the Government of BC. Questions about the program should be directed to a CleanBC Energy Coach. To learn more, visit Better Homes BC.  

RDN Rebates 

  • Funding up to $2,000  

Except for the Wood Smoke Reduction Program rebate, RDN rebates are available to Electoral Area residents only. They can be combined with provincial and federal rebates. There are rebates for home energy assessments, solar panel installations, electric vehicle charging stations and more. To learn more, visit RDN Rebates. If you need more information on RDN rebates after reviewing rebates, contact sustainability [at] rdn.bc.ca (sustainability[at]rdn[dot]bc[dot]ca).  

 

If you prefer video, we've got a webinar recording that sums everything up for you. Click the video below. 

This webinar is designed to help residents understand the renovation process, find and work with qualified contractors, and learn about eligible rebates. Information is current as of November 2022, so be sure to research any changes to rebate programs. 

To view other videos related to home efficiency upgrades and rebates, click here.