Building Improvements

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Arctic Energy Alliance (AEA) has energy experts dedicated to helping your business, community government or non-profit organization conserve energy and improve its energy efficiency. If you are interested in saving money by reducing the amount of heating fuel, electricity and water used, or want to reduce your greenhouse gas emissions, this program is for you. Additionally, you can get rebates for completing energy-related building upgrades.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Due to the requirements of the AEA’s funders, LED lighting retrofits are no longer eligible for rebates.

What Services Do We Offer?

We offer various services:

  • Education and free advice
  • Building energy audits
  • Rebates
  • Project coordination for community governments

Education and Free Advice

We offer education and free advice to businesses, community governments and non-profits to help you better understand how to save energy and reduce costs. Have a question? Contact us today.

Building Energy Audits: Investigate Ways to Save

We offer two types of energy audit. Both can help you find the best ways to save energy in your building so you can decide which upgrade projects to take on.

How it Works

Desktop (Yardstick) Audits

If you want to investigate potential savings before starting an energy upgrade project, AEA can analyze your utility bills for free to see where energy savings might be possible. This is called a yardstick energy audit.

You can apply for a yardstick audit using the form at the bottom of this page.

On-site (Targeted) Audits

If you would like to go even further, an AEA energy advisor can then meet with you at your building and audit your building’s heating equipment and controls, ventilation equipment and controls, air leakage, equipment that uses water, and lighting and lighting controls. We will then let you know how to get the most energy savings for the least amount of money. You can use the audit report to help you decide what work you want to do.

  • Businesses and non-profits: free
  • Community governments: we charge a fee for building energy audits, but you may be eligible for a $15,000 subsidy toward the cost

Rebates

The AEA provides rebates of up to $50,000 for energy upgrades to buildings. The rebate amount you receive will be the lower of:

  • 50% of the total eligible costs of your project
  • A calculation based on the amount of money and greenhouses gases that your project will save (see the program guidelines for more information)

AEA staff can help you figure out what your rebate will be before you spend any money. Rebate cheques for eligible expenses are issued by AEA after the building upgrades are completed, installations confirmed and copies of invoices and receipts have been received by AEA. 

Rebates are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, subject to pre-approval and availability of funds.

You must complete your project within 4 months of receiving pre-approval for your rebate.

How It Works

First Steps

We encourage you to contact us to discuss your potential energy-saving project and the rebates you can receive from AEA.

This conversation will help you determine whether to go through the process of having a desktop energy audit done or the simpler process of submitting receipts. A desktop audit can help you decide if an on-site energy audit is warranted. You will then complete your paperwork and submit it to us.

Investigating Savings

If you want to investigate potential savings before starting an energy upgrade project, AEA can conduct a building energy audit for you.

For community governments, either a desktop or on-site energy audit is required to be eligible for a rebate.

For businesses and non-profits, an audit is encouraged, but not required.

Cost Estimates

Once you’ve decided what kind of building upgrades you want:

  • Get an estimate of how much the upgrades will cost and work with your energy advisor to fill in a rebate pre-approval form. (We can only guarantee you a rebate if your application has been pre-approved before you start the work.)
  • We will let you know what rebate you can expect once the work is done.

Start Your Project

  • Complete your project within 4 months of being pre-approved.
  • Submit final, paid invoices to AEA within 4 months of receiving pre-approval for your project (unless you were granted an extension) or within 1 month of finishing your project, whichever is earlier.
  • If you need more time, please let us know as soon as possible.

Receive Rebates

Once you send the AEA all your receipts and additional paperwork, we can calculate your rebate. One year after you’ve completed your energy upgrades, we can provide, free of charge, a follow-up desktop energy audit so that you realize your energy and financial savings. If you already know what energy upgrades you want to undertake, how much they will cost and your anticipated energy, water and money savings, get in touch with us to pre-approve the building energy upgrades, then send us a copy of all your receipts to process your rebate.

Project Coordination for Community Governments

Your community government can hire the AEA to coordinate your energy upgrade project. The AEA provides project coordination for a fee, but you can receive a $10,000 subsidy toward the cost. This service is provided on a first-come, first-served basis and depends on the availability of AEA staff.

The AEA’s project coordination staff can help you with tasks such as:

  • deciding which of the recommended energy upgrades to implement
  • determining the technical specifications for the energy upgrade
  • issuing the request for proposal (RFP) or request for quotation (RFQ)
  • selecting the contractor
  • drafting a contract between you and the contractor
  • being onsite during the energy upgrade work to ensure that the work requested is what is done (note that this does not constitute an inspection for code compliance, and AEA staff are not GNWT inspectors)

How it Works

  1. Contact the AEA or indicate your interest on your rebate application form.
  2. Sign a partnership agreement with the AEA by the date indicated in your correspondence with the AEA.
  3. Work through the steps in the partnership agreement (all partnership agreements are slightly different, depending on your needs, so the steps can vary).

How to Apply

Apply Online – Rebates

Once your project is pre-approved, you must complete it within 4 months. Final paid invoices must be submitted to the AEA within 4 months of receiving pre-approval for your project or within 1 month of finishing your project, whichever is earlier. If you need an extension on either of these timelines, please contact us before the deadline.
Examples include an employer or contractor.

Project details

Check all that apply.

Documentation

Attach a copy of any relevant quotes or other documentation.
Allowed file types: .pdf, .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .tif, .tiff

Acknowledgement and consent

Your participation in the Building Energy Efficiency Program (the “Program”) requires the Arctic Energy Alliance (“AEA”) to collect information from you, including your personal information. The AEA will collect your information, including your personal information, for the purpose of delivering the Program. All personal information collected from you by AEA is protected by the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, SC 2000, c 5.

The Program is delivered by the AEA pursuant to the terms of the contribution agreement between the AEA and the Government of the Northwest Territories (“GNWT”) (the “Contribution Agreement”). Under the terms of the Contribution Agreement, the AEA is obligated to disclose your information, including your personal information, to the GNWT or the Government of Canada (“Canada”), or both, from time-to-time for the purpose of reporting and the public release of Program statistical data. The collection and disclosure of your information, including your personal information, by the GNWT and Canada is subject to applicable territorial and federal privacy legislation, including the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, SNWT 1994, c 20, and Privacy Act, RSC 1985, c P-21.

By checking the box above, you acknowledge that you have read this notice and that you consent to the collection of your information, including your personal information, by AEA and the disclosure of said information by AEA to the GNWT or Canada or both for the purpose of administering the Program. You further consent to the collection and disclosure of your information, including your personal information, by the GNWT and Canada for the purpose of reporting and the public release of Program statistical data.

Submit your application

Apply Online – Desktop Building Energy Audit

If you would like an audit of more than one building, please complete a separate application for each building.

Building information

For example, “3,000 sq. ft.” Do not include sections of the building that are not connected to heating or cooling systems.
Check all that apply

Heating systems

Check all that apply
Check all that apply

Domestic hot water

Check all that apply
Check all that apply

Ventilation

Check all that apply

Utility billing history

The following information is required to complete your yardstick energy audit. If you don’t have this information available now, you can email it to us later.
Must show volumes delivered and delivery dates. Please combine all documents into one file. If you can’t combine them into one file, please email them to us. Allowed file types: .pdf, .jpg, .jpeg
Must show consumption and billing periods. Please combine all documents into one file. If you can’t combine them into one file, please email them to us. Allowed file types: .pdf, .jpg, .jpeg
Must show consumption and billing periods. Please combine all documents into one file. If you can’t combine them into one file, please email them to us. Allowed file types: .pdf, .jpg, .jpeg

Submit your application

Supporting Material

Building Improvement Application Guidelines

Building Energy Audit Application Guidelines

Application Forms

Building Improvement Application Form

Desktop Energy Audit Application

Additional Programs