The federal government provides $2.6 billion in heat pumps, solar panels, insulation and other green upgrades through Canada’s green house grants. But, what is the difference in this actually?
New report released this week Canada’s nonprofit green community shows that the program is not done enough to meet Canada’s goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
That’s because “the savings are not deep enough, and we’re not doing enough transformations,” said Kai Millyyard, the report’s energy manager and co-author of the report.
What are green houses in Canada?
The federal grant program was launched in December 2020, State the goal Help Canadians reduce their energy costs, create new jobs for energy consultants and fight climate change. Canada Natural Resources says buildings are 18% of Canada’s emissionsmaking it the third largest launching sector after oil, gas and transportation.
The program offers up to $5,000 green remodels per household that can be added to other funds, such as provincial and territorial programs. The money can be used to subsidize the costs of electric heat pumps, more energy-efficient windows and doors, air seals, home insulation and solar panels.
Application will be open in December 2020. Suddenly closed in February 2024. The program should continue Seven yearsBy 2023, the government says the funds are It was earlier than expected Due to the popularity of the program. However, the grant is still being paid to existing applicants.
A popular federal discount that offers homeowners up to $5,600 to remodel homes to make them more efficient and efficient than expected. Green housing grants are expected to last until 2027, but may dry up before that.
Grants resulted in huge heat pump absorption…
More than 500,000 Canadian families have applied for the program. As of January last year, 366,786 had completed the renovation and received an average of $4,498 in rebates, Federal Government Report.
It estimated to reduce 704,000 tons of greenhouse gas, equivalent to 215,670 cars. It said each participating household saved an average of $386 in energy costs and reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 1.92 tons due to its transformation.
About 60% of applicants choose to install heat pumps, they are top remodels for homeowners in British Columbia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec. The federal government said it is expected that 250,000 heat pump units will be available at the end of the plan.
Millyyard acknowledged that the grant program had a huge impact on the adoption of electric heating technology, which replaced gas and oil-fired furnaces and boilers in many homes, a major source of greenhouse gases in buildings.
“It builds a meaningful market,” he said. “The industry is learning quickly, and there is a demand for heat pumps all over the country. It’s a very important development.”
There has also been an increase in solar installations throughout the process. In 2024, they represent 56% of Alberta’s transformations and are the highest transformations for PEI, Yukon and Nunavut.
Recently, some islanders are nervously waiting to learn more about the future of the province’s solar discount plan, after it was recently suspended. Businesses sit on the devices they expect to use this summer, and those who want to put panels in their homes are worried that they may not be approved if changes are made. Tony Davis of CBC has this story.
…but not very insulated
Meanwhile, the report found that during the program, the grants were reduced in grant upgrades.
The program requires people to get energy audits from energy consultants, who advises that the upgrade will be made, a service provided by the Canadian Green Community through member organizations. Audits can also be provided by private companies.
But the report found that most energy consultants recommend that people working for insulation and air leaks do not do so.
Millyyard said isolation materials are often done with other projects, such as completing basements, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars, “So there are a lot of people who recommend upgrading the house to be so affordable.”
Dylan Trebels is trained to help people with home energy transformation. The 30-year-old left his company’s technical desk to work in hopes of becoming part of the army of registered energy auditors.
By the end of 2024, only 29,000 of the only 600,000 renovations are “deep renovations” that can reduce energy use by 50%. There are three things you usually need to do: upgrade the envelope of the building with better insulation materials, make heating and hot water, and add renewable energy (such as solar panels).
The new report believes that by 2050, it is the goal required to reach Canada’s net zero emission target, which should be a priority for future green family grant programs.
It said Canada still needs to speed up the pace of transformation. While Greener Homes Grant aims to renovate 100,000 homes per year, the report says it will take more than 100 years to renovate all existing homes in Canada at this rate. At the same time, 2050 is only 25 years old.
Scientists set out to explore the impact of covering every roof on Earth with solar panels. Their research found that swapping traditional energy for rooftop solar can actually cool the earth – reducing global temperatures up to 0.13°C.
Which transformations are the most effective?
Maya Papineau is an associate professor of economics at Carleton University, Ottawa Transfer actual savings with energy consultants predicted savings In the Ecoenergy program, it is the predecessor of Greener Homes Grant.
Research on houses involved in Alta’s medicine hat found that air seals, insulating materials for lofts and walls were relatively effective, but basement insulation and energy-efficient windows had no effect on energy costs.
Overall, home remodeling achieved only 60% of the energy savings predicted by the energy consultant. Even deep modifications can only achieve an estimated 50% savings.
Papino said this is likely because energy consultants modeled the natural resource energy used by the Eco-Business Program and the Greener Homes Grant Program that underestimated the energy efficiency of most homes.
She said she had marked the issue to the government and planned to make efforts on this issue.
Getting a heat pump in the Ecoenergy program is not an option, but it has a significant impact on the home’s carbon emissions, and Papineau believes it’s one of the best things homeowners can do with green energy grants.
Ottawa is providing Atlantic Canadians with more time to switch to heat pumps. Last week, the federal government announced it would suspend its carbon tax on heating oil for three years. CBC Nova Scotia Amy Smith talked with Dalhousie University environmental studies Wayne Grosko.
Does Canada need another green housing plan?
Papineau said Canada’s economy needs to be changed to achieve net worth, and families must participate.
“I think energy efficiency can and should be a key part of climate change policy. But it has to be done in a way that improves household returns,” she said. Otherwise, they may no longer want to participate.
Millyyard of Canada’s Green Community said any new program requires a bigger grant so that people can actually complete all the remodels they need. He also said that these plans cannot last for just a few years and then disappear, such as Canada’s Greener Homes Grant and previous plans.
“For organizations in the energy efficiency industry, it’s a murder,” he said. “You know, you train a lot of people and then you have to let them go.”
Canada still has a green home loan program, but the absorption is relatively low. Miliard said loans “usually not good enough in the residential sector” and that requires grants.
“The pressure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is just growing [the Canada Greener Homes Grant] This way we can go back to remodeling the house. ”
Election Commitment
At this point in the federal campaign, the New Democrats already had Committed $1.5 billion per year Renovate 2.3 million low-income homes in 10 years, as well as loans to help one million other families.
The Liberals said on their website that it will offer up to $5,000 in home renovation grants and offer up to $40,000 in free interest loans, while the Greens promised a national renovation plan, but no details have been provided. The renovation was not mentioned on the Conservative Party website.
