“We were cold a whole lot – for a lot of money.”
Joey Roy and his family knew their Fort Smith home needed renovating, so they asked the Arctic Energy Alliance for help. It turned out Joey’s house was the perfect candidate for the Deep Home Energy Retrofit program.
The program offers rebates to help owners of older, less energy-efficient NWT homes offset the costs of upgrading their insulation, windows, air sealing and heating systems.
Arctic Energy Alliance staff are always on-hand to help you understand the program and maximize the benefits for you and your home.
The key is committing to upgrade your exterior wall insulation.
When you take that step, you can get up to $8,000 in rebates for that work plus up to $5,000 for more forms of insulation – and a whole range of other rebates are unlocked, from windows and air sealing to furnaces and boilers.
“There is a lot of help, especially if you do a complete house wrap and insulate the exterior walls,” says Joey. “That puts you into a new category to get rebates for other things.
“We removed the old siding and then added insulation to the entire perimeter of the house and inside the garage. Then we added new windows. It’s a big job but we did it before winter and saw results right away.
“Before, we set the heat at 20C and everyone was still wearing two sweaters. Now, when we put the heat at 20C, it feels warmer. It’s comfortable in the house.”
Learn more about rebates for home improvements
Read the application guidelines
Joey says the family’s home heating bills have already been cut in half, and he hasn’t even finished the work yet.
He has been helped throughout the process by the Arctic Energy Alliance. Two evaluations are part of the program: one before renovation work begins, and one at the end.
“The Arctic Energy Alliance came and did tests, they did a walk around the house and a very thorough inspection, looking around everything – the insulation, the windows, possible air leaks, the furnace, the hot water tank. They came up with a comprehensive list of what was needed to improve the house,” says Joey.
“It’s been very easy. Home renovations are home renovations so if you’re planning on doing it, it’s a no-brainer to go with the Arctic Energy Alliance.”
Overall, the maximum rebate you can receive for one home is $20,000. (If you’re the owner of multiple houses, you can rebates for up to five houses per year.)
For a full rebate, qualifying products – like insulation, windows and heating systems – must be purchased in the NWT. Qualifying products purchased outside the NWT, but within Canada, are eligible for 50 percent rebates.
“There’s so much financial help,” says Joey – who’s enjoying the freedom that comes with not having to wear two sweaters in his own kitchen. “Home renovations are not cheap. Any help is nice, and there’s a lot of help available at the moment.”