Spring Cleaning

The end of winter is approaching. If you are like me, you can't help but feel like building things right now. I don't know what it is, but it's a phenomenon tied to spring. Projects plan themselves and hardware shops suddenly become very attractive. What would you say if we offered you to undertake renovations in your home and reimburse a part of the costs? The RénoClimat program is for homeowners who are planning renovation work and want to improve the energy efficiency of their homes.

By following the advice of an energy-efficiency expert, you are eligible for grants from your energy distributor (Hydro Quebec or the natural gas efficiency fund), the Energy Efficiency Office, and from the ecoÉnergie Rénovations de Ressources Naturelles Canada program. Isn't that interesting? After this winter's hefty heating bills and constantly having the impression of heating up the entire block rather than just your place, it is worth exploring this avenue, so might as well get into renovations.

The way it works is very simple. You are first visited by a certified Energy Efficiency Office councillor who makes a series of verifications about your house: isolation, energy consumption, ventilation and heating systems performance, and then submits a report with detailed recommendations on the type of work you would have to do to improve the house's energy efficiency. You also obtain a first "Energuide grade" of your home.

Once work is completed, you will be able to have a second visit to obtain a new evaluation. Grant amounts are calculated according to the energy grade's evolution. The average of allocated amounts is around $2000. On top of that, since the potential for energy consumption reduction generally reaches 35 per cent, savings are worth it. This is not even getting into more comfort and diminishing your impact on the environment…

Imagine for a moment if everyone got into it…35 per cent energy consumption reduction at a provincial level.

Steven Guilbeault

To find out more about the Rénoclimat program:

www.aee.gouv.qc.ca