I recently heard someone describe the 2014 summer season as “the summer that wasn’t”.
With cool temperatures, lots of rain, and little in the way of humidity, that moniker is quite fitting. While other areas of the country have seen a typical hot summer, that just hasn’t been the case in southern Ontario.
As we move toward the end of August and into September, like it or not, we need to start thinking about the cold months ahead. While it may seem a long way off, we’ll be turning on the heat in our homes before we know it.
Now is the perfect time to prepare our homes for the cold and snowy months ahead. A free program offered by Enbridge Gas Distribution for the past few years has been helping gas customers save energy by making their homes more efficient.
Called the Home Winterproofing Program, Enbridge will pay for all improvements — which typically include insulation upgrades and draft proofing — if you qualify for the program. Customers who rent their home, in addition to those who own it, may qualify for the program.
In the winter, warm air escapes your house through small leaks and through walls and ceilings with poor insulation.
Your gas heater has to work harder to keep the temperature at a comfortable level, which means you are paying extra on your heating bill. You could be losing up to 30% of the heat in your home to poor insulation.
To be eligible for the Home Winterproofing Program, you must live in the City or County of Peterborough or the City of Kawartha Lakes, have your home heated by natural gas, be a customer of Enbridge Gas Distribution, and pay your own natural gas bill.
If you have limited income or receive government assistance from programs such as Ontario Works, Guaranteed Income Supplement, National Child Benefit Supplement, the Allowance for Seniors or Allowance for Survivors, you also would qualify for the program.
There are many great reasons to take part in the Home Winterproofing Program, including having the chance to reduce your monthly energy costs. By making your home more energy efficient, you have the can lower your gas bill by as much as 30% — meaning more money in your pocket at the end of each month.
Having energy efficiency upgrades performed on your home also makes it more comfortable, by reducing drafts and allowing you to have more control over the temperature. At the same time, you’re also increasing the value of your home. Future buyers and tenants enjoy energy-efficient homes.
Participating in the program is easy and you can confirm your eligibility in three steps.
First, fill out an application form available from GreenUP or Enbridge Gas Distribution. As part of the application process, you need to provide proof of your income. This can be your last income tax assessment or a benefit statement. This information stays strictly confidential and is not shared with anyone else.
Many government issued forms include your social insurance number. Since the Home Winterproofing Program does not require this information, feel free to black it out. After you’ve gathered the correct documentation and completed your form, return the form to GreenUP or Enbridge for processing.
After we receive your application, we review it to ensure your eligibility in the program. If you qualify, we’ll call you to schedule a visit by one of our certified energy advisors. The advisor typically will inspect your attic and wall insulation, test how drafty your home is and inspect equipment like heating systems, water heater and ventilation.
Once this stage of the program is complete, and if your house qualifies for insulation upgrades, a crew of contractors will be sent to your home to make the energy efficiency and draft proofing improvements recommended by the energy advisor.
Finally, after all the work is complete, we’ll send our energy advisor back to your home to do one final test. This test will show how much the energy efficiency of your home has improved compared to before the draft sealing and insulation work was completed. Generally speaking, the greatest efficiency savings are likely in homes at least 30 years old.
What’s great about the Home Winterproofing Program is that it’s absolutely free. Any work completed on your home is done at absolutely no cost to you, and there’s no catch. You’ll start receiving lower energy bills and your gas consumption will drop.
If you’d like more information on the Home Winterproofing Program, get in touch with GreenUP’s Peter Goering at 705-745-3238 ext. 200.
The Enbridge Home Winterproofing Program
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vw_trEfR96M
