Your home works as a system
When it comes to your energy use at home, the physical makeup of your home plays an important role. Your heating system may be highly efficient, but without adequate insulation and draft proofing, some of your heat will escape and be wasted.
Think of your home as a complete system with a number of different components that work together. Each upgrade towards saving energy makes a difference, but if you add up all those little changes, collectively, they can make a big difference.
Energy efficient upgrades to save now and in the future
Making decisions about what goes into a home take careful consideration. Often it’s the aesthetic finishings that receive the most contemplation when, in fact, the decisions around energy efficiency can have a much larger impact on the overall comfort of your home.
When building a new home or renovating an older home, there are costs to choosing more energy efficient technologies. But you may not have considered the ongoing operational costs. Having a more energy efficient home today will lead to lower energy use and monthly bills in the future.
EnerGuide ratings measure a home’s energy efficiency
Homes can now receive an EnerGuide rating indicating the level of energy efficiency in the same way that appliances are rated. The EnerGuide rating scale indicates how energy efficient a house is on a scale from 0 to 100.
A rating of 0 indicates a house has major leakages and no insulation, while a house with a rating of 100 is producing as much energy as it consumes; it may even producing more and selling energy to the grid. New homes built to the standard building code typically achieve a rating between 65 to 72, while homes rated over 80 are considered energy efficient.
FortisBC PowerSense financial incentives for EnerGuide rated homes
In addition to whole home rebates for homes with electrical heating that achieves a rating of 80 or higher, the FortisBC PowerSense program offers rebates of up to $500 on EnerGuide home evaluations.
Determining the EnerGuide rating for your home
An EnerGuide certified energy advisor can work with you to determine the rating for you home.
If you are building a new home, an assessment can be done right from your plans before the construction actually starts.
Working with you and your builder, the energy advisor will make recommendations about energy efficiency upgrades and then your builder can provide you with a cost estimate for the upgrades.
From your blueprints and using computer software to model different options, the EnerGuide certified energy advisor will make specific recommendations on:
- increasing your home’s resistance to heat loss with specific recommendations for the type of insulation, wall and roof systems
- choosing heating and cooling systems
- maximizing heating and cooling system efficiency and heat distribution in addition to air exchange systems such as kitchen and bathroom exhaust fans
- determining the most appropriate types of windows and doors
Such recommendations will help address all components as part of an integrated system – to maximize energy efficiency and indoor comfort.
Once your home is complete, the energy advisor will verify whatever upgrades have been made and performs a blower door test for air tightness. The advisor will then provide you with a report detailing the EnerGuide rating for your house, which will include an official label for the furnace or electrical box.
Questions?
Our PowerSense representatives can work with you to help make the best choices for your building at the start of the project. Call
1-866-436-7847 or email
powersense@fortisbc.com.
More information