Edmonton, it’s not too late to get more energy-efficient!
As of early 2020, the Alberta government has scrapped many of the Alberta Energy Efficiency programs that had been put in place in the previous administration. But that doesn’t mean that there are no longer resources to help you upgrade your home or business. Yes, that’s right — energy efficiency programs by the City of Edmonton are still available to be benefitted from. These programs are also available for institutional, industrial and commercial energy consumers. So, if you have a home or enterprise in the Edmonton area, you might find these resources beneficial. Some of those listed are not rebates or financial incentives, but might be a guide or toolkit that you will hopefully find useful.
Hopefully, by now you’re well versed on how investing in energy efficiency can save you money in the long run. But if you’re still unsure of all the different ways you could be saving, here at EnergyRates.ca, we’ve compiled a list of 10 benefits of saving energy.
Residential energy efficiency in Edmonton
For Edmonton residents, Genworth Canada is offering the Energy-Efficient Housing Program. They offer a refund of up to 25% of the Genworth Canada insurance premiums and are available on all their mortgage insurance products. You may be eligible for this refund whether you buy a new or existing home or condo, or complete renovations on your existing home. However, before you begin your renovations, make sure a Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) energy advisor pays you a visit to perform a pre-improvement and post-improvement evaluation to make sure you can get the most of your refund.
For other residents, you can perform your own home energy audit to see just how much your home typically consumes. Thanks to the City of Edmonton and the Edmonton Public Library you can sign out the home energy toolkit along with the home energy tool kit manual. Some of the equipment you will find inside of the toolkit are:
- A kill-a-watt meter
- An infrared thermometer
- A stopwatch
- Light meter
- LED light bulb
- Battery charger and rechargeable batteries
That is everything you need to get started on your journey to becoming more energy-efficient. In addition, here’s a helpful guide that includes a video on how to use your home energy toolkit and what each tool is for. The results of this can help you better visualize what can be upgraded and improved to cut costs on your home’s energy consumption.
Commercial energy efficiency in Edmonton
Businesses tend to consume more energy than homes, so any cost-saving measures you can think of will be exponential when applied to your business. And that’s only one of the many benefits of making your business more energy-efficient. An option you have at your fingertips is the Change for Climate initiative, which lets the owners and operators of large buildings reduce their energy intake and the city’s greenhouse gas emissions. According to the City of Edmonton, institutional and industrial buildings account for 23% of the energy and 19% of greenhouse emissions. Thus, any improvements businesses make will greatly reduce the city’s emissions overall.
For corporations to manage their greenhouse emissions across their operations, Edmonton offers the Corporate Climate Leaders Program. Both profit and non-profit, local and world-wide corporations that have an operation within Edmonton, are eligible to become a member of the program. All they must do is demonstrate within 12 to 18 months of signing up that they have established a corporate greenhouse inventory and develop plans and goals to reduce emissions. These commitments must be made available to the public. This program will open soon in early 2020. So, be on the lookout for that.
If your organization has 75 employees or less, or is a non-profit of any size, you are eligible to apply for a rebate of up to 50% of the annual Climate Smart fee to offset the cost of enrolling in the Climate Smart Training and Certification Program.
Industrial energy efficiency in Edmonton
Edmonton energy efficiency programs are also aimed at commercial and industrial energy consumers. They understand that to run your plant daily requires a significant amount of energy, and that you may not be able to adequately invest in the necessary upgrades that will reduce energy consumption over time. Depending on their size, between 30,000 and 65,000 kWh of electricity and significantly more natural gas can be consumed by a business each year. A study by NRCan found that half of the Canadian commercial energy was spent on space heating alone. This means that commercial enterprises could reduce their consumption significantly by updating their HVAC system and re-insulating their buildings. These updates may not be affordable to every business, however, and that’s why NRCan is offering financial assistance for businesses to invest in energy efficiency. You can get up to 50% reimbursement of the cost of your energy management project, which can be combined with other sources of funding. There are also numerous rebates, funds and sponsorships available to help you reach your sustainability goals today.
Other ways you can cut down on energy bills in Edmonton
So, there it is. An exhaustive list informing you of your choices of energy efficiency programs in Edmonton and so much more. And whether or not you live in Edmonton, EnergyRates.ca has various guides on how you can go about lowering your electricity consumption or your natural gas bill, whether for residential, business, commercial, large commercial or industrial gas and power consumers. You can also use our energy rate comparison tool above to compare your energy prices and see if you could be paying a lower price for your utilities.
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