Many Canadians are looking in to conserving energy and making environmentally conscious decisions. Home buyers prefer homes that conserve energy and save on costs. Windows play vital roles in our homes; they provide warmth, light and ventilation. If you are considering to replace windows, you may want to consider choosing energy efficient windows.

Enbridge Gas enables many Canadians to upgrade to energy efficient natural gas through various incentive programs.

Photo Credit: Jon Rawlinson

Community Energy Conservation Program

If you are a qualified home owner, the Enbridge Community Energy Conservation Program provides incentives of up to $2,000 which you could use for your home energy upgrades and audit costs. This program is being offered to Enbridge customers in York region and those living in select areas in Niagara, Ottawa and Toronto until December 31, 2014.

How to Qualify For the Program

In order to qualify for our program, you need to meet the following requirements.

Step 1

You must have a valid Enbridge Gas account number and live in one of the qualifying communities.

Step 2

Provide a pre-retrofit (also called energy upgrades) energy audit of your current home. An inventory and evaluation of your home’s current energy efficiency is what is referred to as an energy audit. A thorough assessment will be done on your home’s current cooling, heating and ventilation equipment. A blower door test will be conducted to check if your home has air leakage as this is likely to waste energy, increase drafts and poor air quality.

An energy audit helps you identify the areas that need improvement to increase your home’s energy efficiency thus enabling you to save more and preserve energy. The Natural Resources Canada EnerGuide Rating System will be used to give your home an energy score. A higher score shows that your home is more energy efficient. The energy audit will be conducted by the Home Inspectors Group and Ridge Energy, which is licensed by Natural Resources Canada.

Step 3

For you to qualify for the Enbridge incentive, you will get advice from our energy auditor on which upgrades you can make to achieve 25% annual gas savings. You can implement at least 2 of the following recommended energy upgrades;

• Air sealing (minimum 10%)
• Window replacement
• Basement wall insulation upgrade
• High efficiency space heating system installation (gas furnace/boiler)
  • Drain water heat recovery system installation
  • Attic insulation upgrade
    • High efficiency water heating system installation (gas)
    • Wall insulation upgrade

If you’re replacing your windows, you may consider installing windows that meet ENERGY STAR efficiency standards. These windows have many advantages due to their structure.

• They feature double or triple layers of low emissivity glass, it has a coating which retains heat during winter and keeps heat out during summer.
• The frames and sashes feature ‘warm edge’ spacers bar which helps to reduce condensation and heat loss. The ‘warm edge’ spacer is a material used to separate two panes of glass.
• It has fewer air leaks.
• It features sealed panes that contain argon. This gas fills the spaces between the glass panes thus slowing down heat loss. If this gas is used with low-e coating, it prevents condensation.

ENERGY STAR efficiency windows will help you save on heating and cooling costs, raise your home’s humidity, decrease condensation and reduce air leakage.

These windows are tested in 4 climate zones; you can check the window’s label to know in which zone it’s most efficient. Make sure to check the window’s Energy Rating (ER) which assesses its overall capability for heat loss through frames, glass and spacers, heat loss through air leakage and heat gain through sun.

Photo credit: Alice Carrier

Step 4

This step involves obtaining a post-retrofit energy audit which gives you your new improved energy score. By comparing the two scores (pre-retrofit and post-retrofit), you’ll be able to see the change your retrofits have made.

Pre- retrofit Energy Audit Incentive

We’ll help you pay the cost of the energy evaluation; we’ll settle $150 of evaluation cost which is $350 and not inclusive of harmonized sales tax

Post- retrofit Energy Audit Incentive

To qualify for this incentive, you must have finished 2 minimum retrofit upgrades and achieved a 25% annual gas savings. If you achieve 25%-49% annual gas savings, you qualify for $1,600 Enbridge incentive and if your annual gas saving is 50% and above, you qualify for a $2,000 incentive.