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Increased home efficiency rebates help families save

Nelson Daily Staff
By Nelson Daily Staff
April 7th, 2011

In partnership with BC Hydro and FortisBC, the Province of BC is extending and improving its LiveSmart BC: Efficiency Incentive Program, where homeowners can receive more than $7,000 in rebates for energy saving improvements and equipment.

The program is extended for an additional two years and rebates for improvements like insulation, draft-proofing and high-performance windows and doors have increased by up to 700 per cent.

Effective April 1, 2011, the increased incentives include:

• Up to $1,500 for exterior wall insulation, up from $400.

• Up to $1,200 for basement insulation, up from $500.

• Up to $750 to install attic insulation, up from $310.

• Up to $70 per window, door and skylight replacement, up from $40 each.

• Up to $500 to replace a supplementary heating system with a pellet burning appliance, up from $250.

In all, rebates have increased for 35 of 54 different items, and to further encourage participants to reduce a home’s heat loss, 12 new items have been added to the program.

To access the rebates, homeowners must hire a certified energy advisor to conduct an energy-efficiency assessment prior to and after making any eligible improvements.

The advisor will handle all the paperwork in applying for provincial incentives after the post-retrofit assessment.

 

Quick facts

• Over the coming two years, the LiveSmart BC: Efficiency Incentive Program will provide up to $30 million in provincial funding for upgrades, with a further $11.7 million available from BC Hydro and Fortis BC.

• The new incentives are for homeowners entering the program on or after April 1, 2011.

• 40,000 new entrants are expected to enter the program.

• The rebates vary by region – typically 25 per cent higher in the Interior/Northern region for improvements to insulation and draft proofing windows and doors.

• Homeowners are encouraged to use certified installers to improve the quality and value of the work, with a new $100 rebate for heating systems installed by a certified professional.

• The program continues to pay $150 toward each initial energy assessment, lowering the cost for families to access this $325 service.

 

Learn more

• For a full list of the changes and incentives available to homeowners through the LiveSmart BC: Efficiency Incentive Program visit: www.livesmartbc.ca/rebates

• To learn more about the LiveSmart BC: Small Business Program visit: www.livesmartbc.ca/green_business/index.html

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