The Retrofit Program for Businesses in Ontario

So, what exactly are the business retrofit programs in Ontario all about? For eligible owners or lessees, the energy retrofit program in Ontario offers business incentives or a variety of energy-efficient measures available under three streams: Lighting, HVAC, and Manufacturing and other equipment. To participate, your project must be pre-approved with a minimum incentive of $500.

Below is some more information on who is eligible and what projects are eligible as listed by the Save on Energy website:

Retrofit Program Business Eligibility

Retrofit incentives are available to owners or lessees* of:

• Commercial spaces or buildings, such as offices, retail and grocery stores, restaurants, hotels, and warehouses.
• Industrial facilities in sectors such as food and beverage, automotive, plastics, steel, mining, paper, and chemical industries.
• Institutional buildings, including hospitals, universities, municipal facilities.
• Multi-family buildings, such as apartments (including social housing) or condominiums.
• Agricultural facilities, including dairy, swine and poultry farms, greenhouses, and nurseries.

*If you lease, you must have the owner’s consent or authorization to participate.

What types of projects are eligible for the Ontario Retrofit Program?

Projects eligible for the Retrofit program are generally those that provide sustainable, measurable, and verifiable reductions in peak electricity demand and electricity consumption.

Examples of eligible projects include:

• Lighting retrofits.
• Lighting controls.
• HVAC redesign.
• Chiller replacement.
• Variable-speed drive installations.

What is retrofit?

Before we go any further, let’s define the meaning of retrofit. According to the United States Department of Energy, retrofitting is an opportunity to “upgrade the energy performance of commercial building assets for their ongoing life.” More specifically, retrofit involves modifications to existing commercial buildings that may improve energy efficiency or decrease energy demand.

List of available programs

Below are a list of Save on Energy programs sorted by who or what they are meant for.

Business and Industry

Retrofit program

Save on Energy’s flagship Retrofit program offers businesses a more customer-friendly experience through an expanded list of energy-efficient measures, faster application review processes and quicker incentive payments.

New measures are available under three streams: lighting, HVAC and manufacturing and other equipment. Measures focus on the most commonly used products and technologies, including the most popular measures from the custom track, to continue to help businesses save on energy costs and to help increase their competitiveness.

A full list of new measures and incentives (including but not limited to LED lights, HVAC chillers and occupancy sensors) is available here.

You can learn more about the retrofit program by calling 1-844-303-5542 or emailing retrofit@ieso.ca.

Energy Performance Program

This program will be available for commercial and institutional facilities and eligibility will be broadened to include industrial consumers in 2021.

The Energy Performance Program (EPP) rewards customers who are able to make behavioural and operational changes that support capital investment projects, enabling them to grow their energy savings over a number of years.

Three years of annual pay-for-performance incentives are available for multi-site and single-site facilities for applications approved by December 31, 2024.

Incentive Information:

• Energy Incentive: $0.04/kWh paid annually over the term of the contract for all metered savings compared against the facility baseline energy model developed prior to the first performance year.
• Peak Demand Incentive: An additional $50/kW paid annually over the three-year term for metered savings compared against the facility’s average peak demand over the summer months in the baseline year.

Who can participate in the Energy Performance Program?

Participants must:

• Be owners and/or operators of commercial, institutional, or industrial facilities located in Ontario.
• Commit to participate for three years and commit to realize a minimum of five percent energy savings per facility within two years.
• Have a minimum annual consumption of 1,500,000 kWh per facility (or group of up to five buildings aggregated into a single facility baseline energy model.)
• Have 12 months of hourly interval meter data for each facility.

To learn more about the energy performance program, you can send an e-mail to EnergyPerformanceProgram@ieso.ca.

Energy Manager Program

The Energy Manager Program through energy managers offers expertise for businesses on what energy-saving equipment and technologies are right for your business. Energy managers are trained to find energy savings, identify smart energy investments, secure financial incentives, and unlock competitive advantages.

To learn more about the Energy Manager Program, you can contact EnergyManagers@ieso.ca via e-mail.

Small Business

Small Business Lighting Program

The Small Business Lighting Program offers up to $2,000 in incentives towards eligible energy-efficient lighting upgrades (inclusive of materials and labor.) Below are the eligibility requirements for this program:

• All types of businesses with 50 or fewer employees on site at any point in time can participate.
• Previous participants of the Small Business Lighting Program from 2016 – 2019 are not eligible to participate again.

Businesses can start an application on the official Save On Energy website. To learn more about the Small Business Lighting Program, you can send an email to info@smallbusinesslighting.ca or call 1-866-932-8283.

Residential

Energy Affordability Program

The Energy Affordability Program provides support to income-eligible electricity consumers by helping them to lower their monthly electricity costs and to increase their home comfort.

Some participants may qualify for a free home energy needs assessment conducted by a trained energy professional that will help identify energy-efficient upgrades available for their homes, such as replacement of inefficient appliances and professionally installed insulation and draft-proofing. These upgrades may be installed during or after an in-home visit.

Other participants may qualify instead for free energy saving kits. These are customized to meet their energy needs and could include energy-saving LED lighting, timers, faucet aerators and/or clothes drying line.

All expert advice and energy-saving home upgrades under this program are completely free of charge.

Below are some of the free upgrades available from the Energy Affordability program:

• ENERGY STAR®-certified LED light bulbs.
• High-efficiency showerheads (standard and handheld.) *
• Faucet aerators (kitchen and bathroom.) *
• Drying line for clothes.
• Energy-efficient refrigerator.
• Window air conditioner.
• Smart power strip.
• Additional attic or basement insulation.**
• Weather-stripping around doors and windows.**
• Smart thermostat(s).**

*for homes with electric hot water heating.

**for homes heated by electricity.

Next, we’ve included below who is eligible for the Energy Affordability Program:

People who live in Ontario (including those living in grid-connected First Nation communities) and are responsible for paying their monthly electricity bill as a homeowner or as a renter may qualify for this program. The type of support provided will depend on your household income level from the previous year and how many people live in your home, or on your receipt of a qualifying government or energy-support benefit. Residents of social housing may also be eligible.

To find out more about the Energy Affordability Program, you can complete the form on this page, call 1-866-932-8283 or e-mail eap@saveonenergy.ca.

What is the 2021-2024 Conservation and Demand Management Framework?

According to the Independent Electric System Operator (IESO), the 2021-2024 Conservation and Demand Management Framework offers energy-efficiency incentives for businesses and communities across Ontario under the Save on Energy brand. The CDM framework is focused on cost-effectively meeting the needs of customers and the electricity system by providing programs and resources to help Ontarians improve the energy efficiency of their working and living spaces.

Agriculture Energy Incentives

Below are some of the available agricultural energy incentives for businesses with greenhouses or other related equipment/facilities:

• LED grow lights – Achieve long-term savings and shine new light on your business with LED grow lights.
• Dual and natural exhaust vents – Read our agribusiness worksheet to learn about the incentives you can get for natural ventilation.
• High-efficiency ventilation exhaust fans – Your business can receive a max of $250 per fan.
• Recirculation ventilation fans – You can get a high-volume, low-speed fan for up to $2,410 per fan.
• Photocells and timers for lighting controls – You can receive $180 per timer and photocell controller combo.

You can contact an advisor for more information on the official Save On Energy website.

Food Services Energy Incentives

• Demand Control Kitchen Ventilation incentives – DCKV uses advanced sensors and variable speed controls to ramp up ventilation during busy preparation periods and wind down ventilation during slower periods, significantly cutting back natural gas and electrical energy usage.
• Lighting.
• ENERGY STAR freezers.
• Unitary Air Conditioning.
• Ice machines.
• Walk-in freezers.

For more information, you can call 1-844-303-5542. For more tailored advice, you can use the form available on Save On Energy’s website.

Other ways you can save on your business energy costs in Ontario

After learning about some of the available energy efficiency programs in Ontario, you may be wondering about other ways you can save on your business energy costs.

EnergyRates.ca can help with that. The website is a free and unbiased cost comparison tool that can help you find and compare the best energy rates in your area, regardless of if you’re a residential consumer, small business consumer, small commercial consumer, large commercial consumer or industrial energy consumer.

If you’re looking for a more green and sustainable way to save, we can help with that too – our team EnergyRates.ca can help you compare various green energy solutions, including renewable energy credits (RECs) and carbon offsets.