Okanagan Energy Diet: Part 2

Energy efficiency makes for healthy living spaces, reduces emissions, increases comfort and saves money. Did you also know that heating, cooling and hot water systems use almost 75 per cent of all the energy used in your home? Did you know that just replacing old heating and cooling systems without addressing insufficient insulation values in the building envelope offers minimum benefit to the energy efficiency of your home?

That is why FortisBC PowerSense has teamed up with Total Home Solutions to provide Okanagan residents with a community-wide energy diet, to help educate residents on how to save money on their energy bills and improve their home’s comfort and indoor air quality.

In Part I of the Okanagan Energy Diet  I touched on the info-sessions that are available in various regions in the Okanagan. Here is an overview of the process once a homeowner signs up for the program:

1.  Once you sign up with FortisBC PowerSense, Total Home Solutions will contact you to schedule an initial home assessment (energy evaluation) at your convenience. ***participants must have an assessment completed before December 14, 2013***

2.  A Certified Energy Advisor (CEA) will come to your home and assess all aspects of the home (i.e. windows and doors, insulation levels in building envelope, attic insulation, heating/cooling equipment, ventilation, domestic hot water system and air leakage. This process takes approximately 1.5hrs to complete depending on size and complexity of the home.)

3.  The CEA will also install initial energy-efficient household items at the time of the assessment. These items may include energy-efficient lighting, a low flow shower head and pipe insulation.

4.  Upgrades must be completed by December 31, 2013 in order to qualify for most FortisBC PowerSense rebates.

5.  For LiveSmart BC rebates, participants have until March 31, 2014 to complete upgrades and their post-retrofit evaluation. Homeowners are to contact Total Home Solutions to schedule their follow up evaluation.

6.  Participants who receive their electricity directly from FortisBC and are interested in financing their energy-efficient upgrades can apply for the FortisBC PowerSense Renovating for Efficiency Loan Program.

7.  Once the process is complete, the CEA will apply for all LiveSmart BC rebates on behalf of the homeowners and will supply them with an EnerGuide Label that goes on the electrical panel, displaying the home’s energy efficiency.

Residents can register online or at the ener-vention in their community. For ener-vention locations, dates and times please contact either Total Home Solutions 1-888-860-1766 or FortisBC 1-866-436-7847 or 250-212-6484. Participants can also register online at fortisbc.com/energydiet within six weeks of the ener-vention in their community.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.