EcoENERGY Retrofit Gov`t Program

[NJang]

Hi everyone,

I`m enjoying and benefiting greatly from ALL the posts... super educational! Thx REIN!

At last years` annual REIN conference in Edm one of the presenters (a fella from Amerispec I believe) talked about a gov`t program that offered grants and incentives for upgrading homes/buildings to a gov`t acceptable energy-efficient standard, and in turn, be reimbursed by the gov`t for a % of those renos (windows, heaters, insulation, etc) after it has been approved. See this link:

http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/corporate/retrofit-summary.cfm?attr=0

I`m curious to know if anyone out there in Real Estate Investing Land and/or fellow REIN-members have taken advantage of this program (or currently in the process) and received successfully the financial support that is offered after the upgrades have been approved? Worth it? How long?

In particular, I`m interested if anyone has done this with multi-family types (apt buildings, 4+ units). What has your experience been with this process? Any comments or suggestions of other similar type gov`t programs would be appreciated!

Thx all!

Norm...

 

[johnpeacock]

Hi,
I, too, am interested in the retrofit incentive program. I was unable to attend that particular Rein Mtg and had a difficult time figuring out how to get more info. I am in the Red Deer area and would like to know if there is info in this area.
John

 

[DonCampbell]

Here`s a link to a discussion thread on this subject that you should find helpful (including links etc)

Ecoenergy discussion

 

[rforgiel]

I used the ecoEnergy program for a townhouse I have in Brantford.
You need to get an audit done of the home before doing the renovations by a registered energy auditor at a cost of $386. In Ontario the Provincial Government will provide some sort of a rebate on this cost. I understand they just got their systems working to cut these cheques but I have not seen it and my audit was in August.

When the renovations are complete you call the energy auditor back at a cost of $159 and he does one final audit to confirm what you have done. They file the report and the government will release your rebate. My final audit was December but I have not received my cheques yet. I will keep you updated on how this finally plays out.

Remember in Ontario the provincial government will match what the federal government is providing.
There is a cost to getting the audits completed so work that into your calculations.
If you are switching a furnace or air conditioning the HVAC contractors are advertising that they can get you the rebate back. I do not know how well that works. If they know you are going after an ecoEnergy rebate, they will typically add that rebate amount to their quote so be carefull and shop around.

If you need a good energy auditor in Hamilton/Brantford, let me know and I would be happy to forward on to you the company I used. They also do multifamily units and churches.

Ramon Forgiel