Energy Audits in Ontario – News to Me

Nowadays the world is trying to make greener and more energy efficient homes. Growing up on a farm I never thought that there were any issues with global warming or climate change. I got up, did my farm chores and we always had fresh groceries. I had a lot to learn…

We never used pesticides back then or sprayed our crops for all the craziness that farmers do now. Adding toxins to the soils and depleting all the nutrients.

Once I started noticing all the differences with how things were being grown in the world I started to seek out other things that were diminishing.

When you search up ways to help the planet you can find many ways. Changing simple things can have a huge impact when the world collectively does it.

The government recently put out a grant for people to have an energy audit on their house. Which means have someone come out and assess how energy efficient certain parts of the house are, and they will give you a check to cover a portion of the costs to fix it.

Appointment For An Energy Audit

I booked an appointment with my local Uxbridge company who did certified energy audits. Without that certification you aren’t eligible for the up to $5000 grant when you do upgrade anything.

A few years ago I had purchased my home and knew there were going to be some issues. But at the time, the slight monthly cost of the heat loss and older appliances were cheaper than the renovation and upgrades I knew I needed to do.

When the appointment was booked I started to really look around and see what I thought would be a top priority for me to fix in my mind. And how much I was willing to spend on my first round of upgrades.

Energy Inspection Audit

Basement Energy Audit

We started the home inspection in the basement. The energy audit inspector had a clip board with him for each floor along with a couple gagets.

I was curious how he would be able to tell what the walls were like down there. My basement is completely finished, including the ceiling and under the stairs. That was one of my favourite perks when buying this house. I wanted to do zero renovations until it was absolutely necessary.

So to answer my curiosity the energy audit inspector showed me his infrared camera. I had never even heard of them before. But what he did was point it at a wall and the thermo colours indicated whether my walls or windows were leaking and how much.

I was shocked to see that the barely a decade old windows were quite the leakers! I never noticed any seasonal sweating or drafts, so it was news to me. The walls all seemed to pass the inspection in the basement though.

Main Floor Energy Audit

The main floor inspection went relatively the same as the basement. The thermo infrared camera had spotted more windows that needed to be upgraded as well as my patio sliding door in the kitchen.

Interestingly when he used the camera along the ceiling you could see all along the ceiling meets wall a dip in temperature. He said it wasn’t a drastic change of temperature BUT I could look into getting my attic insulation refilled to the absolute edge to prevent mold and moisture build up.

Appliance Energy Audit

This category was where I knew I needed all the upgrades. When I bought my house the appliances were all included and definitely not new.

Appliances that he inspected are:

• Fridge
• Stove
• Dishwasher
• Water heater
• Furnace
• Water softener
• Air Conditioner
• Washer
• Dryer
• Deep freezer
• Toilet
• Sink and shower hardware

The fridge was so old and definitely leaking cold air. I always have frost built up around the edge and have to wipe black mold off the rubber trim. EWW My deep freezer was in the same sad state. Always needing to be wiped down and sweating.

The stove he said was fine but usually homeowners tend to buy all kitchen appliances at the same time for aesthetics sake. The dishwasher was going to be replaced whether he said it needed it or not. It wasn’t cleaning the dishes anymore and I had had it with the constant rewashing.

The furnace/air conditioner and water softener were all needing servicing and required to me upgraded to be considered the new level of “green”. But I found that they produced what I needed for now and not on the top of my priority list of ways to make my home energy efficient.

Toilets and sink/shower hardware all needed to be upgraded.  But I wasn’t ready to part with my greedy love for high water pressure. I have thick long hair and cannot handle the extra 10 mins trying to get the shampoo out of my hair. I don’t think I’ll ever understand why we want to limit ourselves to a more efficient shower experience.

Same with toilets… if a log is being flushed with barely any water… who are we kidding. We use more water flushing triple the amount to make sure that bowel movement is making it to the sewers and not setting up shop in the pipes.

Energy Audit Grant Accepted

I was uber excited to know that I was eligible to claim the government energy grant for making my home energy efficient.

The company I used was thorough, super knowledgeable and qualified as a certifiable energy audit inspector and connected to the Durham Greener Homes Grant.

I purchased new windows and doors to start off my greener home experience. Figured using the grant for those was more important than scrubbing my dishes by hand every once in awhile.

When I submitted my application I was granted the full $5000 towards my green energy efficient windows and doors. I also managed to get back a good size portion of my energy audit inspection.

Overall it was the best way to upgrade my home and green up the place.