Green Homes: Upgrade Guide
When most of us think of a home renovation, we think of a fresh coat of paint, new flooring, or an updated kitchen or bathroom. In most cases, the renovation is to update and refresh our spaces aesthetically.
Did you know that there are improvements you can make to your home that will help lower utility bills, decrease carbon pollution, and even improve occupant health? Green home upgrades have these benefits and more.
Read on to learn about how to undertake green home upgrades and what options are available to you. Visit Green Homes: Rebates and Financing to see what financial incentives are available.
Green Home Upgrade Process
Major renovations may require a Building Permit (BP), contact buildinginfo@tol.ca if you are unsure your project will require a BP. A reminder that the TOL’s Green Building Rebate Program only applies to projects that have a BP.
Steps 1 and 5 are helpful for all green home upgrade projects, but especially important if you would like to access provincial or federal rebates. These steps are provided as one possible pathway residents can follow when completing energy efficiency and fuel switching retrofits on their homes.
Visit betterhomesbc.ca/ea to find an Energy Advisor in your area
The EA will conduct a home energy evaluation resulting in specific home upgrade suggestions
Some upgrades may require a major renovation to unlock energy savings
Your Energy Advisor can give you guidance on the highest value upgrades
Best practice is to get three quotes before selecting a contractor
CleanBC Better Homes has a list of Program Registered Contractors for heat pumps, insulation, and windows/doors
Double check rebate requirements before starting retrofits
Make sure to budget a bit extra for potential unexpected costs
After your Green Home Upgrades are completed, the Energy Advisor will do a post-retrofit evaluation to determine how the energy usage of your home has improved
Green Home Upgrade Options
The graph below shows how different green home upgrades may be better for your wallet, decrease greenhouse gas emissions, or help adapt to climate change. This is just a snapshot of green home upgrades – visit the federal Canada Greener Homes webpage, the provincial CleanBC Better Homes webpage, and talk with an Energy Advisor to learn more.
Resilient Home Upgrade: A resilient home upgrade includes any modification that reduces a home’s vulnerability to physical climate risks. These upgrades can improve the physical structure of a home (such as wind-resistant roofs and windows, and flood mitigation), decrease the amount of resources the home needs to function (by improving the home’s energy efficiency), and provide a way to power critical building systems during grid or fuel supply interruptions (such as installing solar PV and home battery storage).
Disclaimer: The Township of Langley is providing this graph for information purposes only and is not liable for decisions taken based off the information in this table. For the most accurate cost and GHG reduction estimates, we recommend residents hire an Energy Advisor and obtain multiple quotes when undertaking retrofits.
Funding is available to help finance green home upgrades. Visit our Green Homes: Rebates and Financing webpage.
Hire an Energy Advisor | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
What is an Energy Advisor?The best person to give advice on green home upgrades is an Energy Advisor. Energy Advisors are registered with Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) to perform EnerGuide energy evaluations on new or existing homes and provide guidance to homeowners who are interested in improving their home’s energy efficiency. |
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Improve home heating and hot water system | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Switch from gas furnace to electric heat pumpHeating a typical single-family home with a natural gas furnace can emit about two tonnes of GHGs per year, which is the same as driving a gas-powered car about 8,000 km. By switching to a heat pump, your home heating emissions can decrease by almost 98%.
Upgrade gas furnace to high efficiency modelPrior to 1990, most furnaces had a 60% efficiency rating, with more modern furnaces ranging from 78-82% efficiency. With technological advances, high efficiency furnaces can now reach up to 95-98.5% efficiency. By switching from a 60% efficient to a 95% efficient furnace, your home heating GHG emissions could decrease by about 35%. Switch from gas to electric water heaterWater heating accounts for about 23% of total household energy use in BC. A home using natural gas to heat its water will typically emit about 1 tonne of GHGs per year, equivalent to driving a gas-powered car about 4,000 km. According to a 2022 case study published by B2E, electric water heaters are generally less expensive than natural gas water heaters initially ($1,700 for a new gas-fired hot water tank compared to $900 for a standard electric hot water tank of the same size), and cost slightly more to operate each month (typically about $13/month more) but will decrease your GHG emissions from water heating by ~98%.
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Improve building envelope | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Insulate atticAdding insulation to the attic is one of the least invasive and most cost-effective ways to improve your home’s building envelope and energy efficiency (the building envelope includes: exterior walls, foundation, roof, windows, and doors). If air sealing is done at the same time, you can save an average of 15% on your heating and cooling costs. Upgrade windows and doorsWindows and doors can account for up to 25% of total house heat loss. While replacing your home’s doors and windows is a more expensive green retrofit, it can have a real impact on both summer cooling and winter heating costs, helping you save on monthly energy bills. Draftproof homeDraftproofing your home has multiple benefits. Also known as weather stripping, draftproofing gaps and cracks around windows and doors, light switches, electrical outlets, and air vents reduces heat loss in the winter and heat gain in the summer. Draftproofing also has the benefit of dampening outdoor noise and keeping pesky insects outside. |
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Install renewable energy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Install solar panels (solar PV)Solar panels are a great alternative energy source for homes in southwest BC and can help lower your electricity bills. While solar panels can’t provide back-up power on their own during a power outage, coupling them with a home battery system may allow your home to remain powered during outages. |
Stay in Touch
Questions? Email greenbuildings@tol.ca to get in touch with our Green Buildings team.
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