But opposition critics say the program – which gives grants of up to $5,000 to make homes more energy efficient – has definitely croaked. And they say that will deter Canadians from retrofitting their homes and put emerging clean technology companies out of business.

The Natural Resources Department announced Wednesday that retrofit grants are no longer available for anyone who had not booked a home energy audit by March 31.

That’s because there are already enough applications to eat up the full $300 million remaining in the program.

Natural Resources Minister Christian Paradis says the program will continue to operate this year, but the future is uncertain because all government programs are being reviewed with an eye to cutting costs.

“It is not cancelled,” Paradis insisted Thursday.

But the opposition wasn’t buying that.

Liberal environment critic David McGuinty said it makes no sense to “kill the most popular energy-efficiency program for Canadians.”

“It’s really foolish. Canadians want to do the right thing, they want to make those investments. It’s a bit of help toward that end,” he said.

Even worse, McGuinty said the cancellation “will affect hundreds if not thousands of small start-up energy efficiency firms who want to now start creating the clean technology, clean-energy jobs of the future. That’s now all at risk.”

NDP environment critic Linda Duncan noted that the federal budget last month included an additional $80 million for the program and “then on the first day of the fiscal year, they can it.”

Duncan said the government is constantly telling Canadians “they have to do their part” to cut energy consumption, pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. The popular retrofit program was helping Canadians do just that.”

“Then what are they doing? They’re yanking the very program that people have bought into.”

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/breakingnews/home-retrofit-program-not-dead-just-resting-minister-says-89727387.html

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Politics/2010/02/23/12993661-qmi.html

The Harmonized Sales Tax will cost you about $225 a year — before you even flick a switch or touch your thermostat.

That’s according to Ministry of Finance estimates of what the coming HST will do to your monthly electricity and natural gas bill, obtained by the New Democratic Party through a Freedom of Information request.

“Increase in typical electricity bill is about $100 each year, increase in typical natural gas bill is about $125 each year,” the document states. “For example, a typical residential customer in Toronto Hydro’s service territory, the tax on a monthly electricity bill would increase from $5.28 to $13.74. The total bill, including tax, would increase from $110.98 to $119.43 (based on annualized 2008 rates).”

The NDP had requested seven months ago to find out what the government was assuming the impact of the HST would be on household energy bills — currently taxed 5% under the federal Goods and Services Tax.

But on July 1, when the GST merges with the 8% provincial retail sales tax, the total levy on energy will be 13%.

“It’s another example of how it’s going to hit people hard on the pocketbook year after year,” NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said, dismissing the argument that one-time transition payments that some families will qualify for will soften the blow.

“Notwithstanding the $1,000 of our own money they’re going to bribe us with, these costs are here into the future for families.

“It proves our point that the harmonized sales tax is the wrong tax, it’s going to hurt people when they can least afford it, not only on home heating, not only on electricity — which we’ve finally got the goods to prove — but on things like the gas in your car, things like your haircuts, your trips to the vet, your accountant, your lawyer. You name it, it’s going to be a hit on your pocketbook which is really going to hurt families these days.”

The document the government released reveals little else about what the Ministry of Finance assumes will happen when the HST takes effect. Only four paragraphs were actually released, with the remaining sections of the four pages the NDP received marked “non-responsive.”

The document does note the government was planning to offset the increase, especially for lower-income groups.

“To put this in perspective, applying PST to electricity bills would increase the typical electricity bill in 2009 by about a fraction of the total value of tax relief being provided,” the document states.

Those measures include one-time transition payments over three installments of $1,000 for families earning less than $160,000, and the Ontario Sales Tax Credit of $260 per adult and child with family incomes less than $25,000 or single people with incomes of less than $20,000.

Premier Dalton McGuinty announced the HST in last year’s budget, arguing it was necessary to revamp Ontario’s tax system and modernize the province’s economy.

Modern Ventless Fireplaces

Here’s an excerpt:

Historically the main function of a fireplace was to provide the principal source of heat, and therefore was typically positioned centrally. Today, fireplaces are less functional and more focal points for a room; they are installed to create a cozy luminescent atmosphere and their design has to be consistent with the overall style of the home. In the last decade fireplaces have evolved in terms of both style and heating mechanisms.

There are infinite styles available, for example wall mounted, freestanding multifunctional coffee table/fireplaces in a variety of materials (stones, wood, steel, glass) and colours. Along with the traditional wood, gas and electric models, the market has introduced new fuels like gel or liquefied ethanol. These new energy sources are great for condos where it often isn’t possible to install an exhaust system.

Read the whole article CondoLife article here!

You can wait for an older furnace to reach the end of its life, which happens (on average) between 18 and 22 years. Or you can replace it before a breakdown to enjoy a variety of rebates, grants and tax credits that subsidize the cost.

Who knows if a helping hand will still be around by the time your furnace breathes its last?

Here are some subsidies for furnace upgrades:

• Up to $1,250 in federal and provincial rebates under the ecoEnergy retrofit program. You have to get a home energy audit and do the work within 18 months, followed by a second energy audit.
• A $125 rebate on a mid-efficiency or high-efficiency furnace with an electronically commutated motor, installed by Dec. 31, from the Ontario Power Authority’s Every Kilowatt Counts program.
• A $100 rebate from Enbridge Gas for a high-efficiency natural gas furnace, installed by Nov. 30, which carries the Energy Star mark.
• A 15 per cent tax credit on home renovation spending from $1,000 to $10,000, incurred by Feb. 1, 2010.

New federal rules will come into effect next year to stop the sale of mid-efficiency furnaces manufactured after Dec. 31.

A mid-efficiency furnace burns about 80 per cent of the gas you pay for. It’s better than a conventional gas furnace, which is 60 per cent efficient.

But with a new high-efficiency furnace, you can keep 90 to 97 per cent of the fuel inside your home.

So, why do some homeowners opt for a mid-efficiency furnace? It uses the chimney to vent gases.

A high-efficiency furnace doesn’t use the chimney. The gases are vented through a plastic pipe out the side wall or basement of the home.

Venting can be an issue if you live in a compact house in a densely packed urban area. You can’t drill holes too close to windows or dryer outlets.

“There are real challenges doing venting in the city,” says Roger Grochmal, president of Atlas Cares, a home heating and air conditioning contractor.

“Even if your mid-efficiency furnace hasn’t reached the end of its useful life, you may want to think about replacing it now.”

Mid-efficiency furnaces are still installed every day, says Direct Energy’s Dave Walton, director of home ideas.

“Some people just have a preference. It’s more about venting concerns.”

A home energy audit can help you pick the right furnace for your house. The cost is $300 to $350, partially offset by a $150 rebate from the Ontario government.

Many homeowners are replacing their central air conditioning, too.

“It’s a really good time to do an upgrade,” says Grochmal. “Of every 10 furnaces we install, we’re doing six to seven air conditioning units at the same time.”

You can get up to $500 in federal and provincial rebates for upgrading central air conditioning under the ecoEnergy retrofit program.

Another rebate for air conditioning replacement is offered by the Every Kilowatt Counts program. It’s $250 or $400, depending on the seasonal energy efficiency rating (SEER).

“The ways to max out the grants are quite astonishing. There are serious savings to be had,” says Walton.

First, BTU stands for British thermal units per hour . Really, all that one really needs to know about this is that the higher the BTU, the more space the air conditioner can cool efficiently. The aim is to get as many BTU’s as necessary for sufficient cooling without getting a unit that is more than you need. As a general room of thumb, look for five to six thousand BTU’s for each 100 to 300 square feet you want to cool. Consider seven thoudsand to eighty wo hundreds BTU’s for 250 to 55o sq. ft. and ninety eight hundred to twelve thousand five hundred for area that is 350 to 950 sq. Expect a standard air conditioner to cool one or two rooms.

Set with how many BTU’s you will look for, the next thing to consider the units’ efficiency rating. .The federal government has set and requires a standard energy efficiency rating (EER). They are 9.7 for units of below eight thousand BTU’s. 9.8 for units of eight thousand to thirteen thhousand nine hundred and ninety nine BTUs. Many units now exceed these numbers. If a unit has an “energy star status” that means it is at least ten percent more efficient than the minimum standards .Models that use the least electricity used to be the most expensive models but that is no longer the case. I make energy efficiency an important point in my selection process. During the “dog days of summer” your air conditioner might be on alot, maybe most of the time. The cost of running the unit is an important aspect of the unit’s cost for me. Beside the EER rate there should be a sticker from either AHAM ( the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers)or (CSA) the Canadian Standards Association. They test units and confirm the EER ratings of units.

When buying a window air conditioning unit, more is not necessarily better. Base the size of the air conditioning unit on the size of the room, the other factors that affect the temperature in the room, such as how many windows it has and whether it faces south, north, etc. An air conditioning unit that is too big for the room will work harder and cost you more.

When you’re shopping for a central air conditioning system, make sure the SEER number (seasonal energy efficiency ratio) is 13 or better (14 in warmer climates). A less efficient system will cost you more to run. Look for an EER (energy efficiency ratio) of 11 or higher for room air conditioners. A high efficiency unit costs more, but if you live in a hot climate, it will pay for itself in a few years by reducing electricity bills.

Perform regular maintenance on your air conditioning unit. Replace the filter monthly during the cooling season and have a professional service your system at the beginning of each cooling season.

A cooling system is one of the biggest energy guzzlers in your home (second only to your heating system, depending on where you live). If you have an old air conditioning system with a SEER rating of less than 8, it may be worthwhile to consider replacing it with a more energy efficient system. You should be able to recoup the cost in just a few years.

Install a programmable thermostat so you can vary the temperature according to when you’re home. Set it to 78 degrees when you’re home. If you’ll be gone for more than a few hours, it makes sense to set the air conditioning at 85 degrees while you’re gone.

Make sure your air conditioning condenser is located in a shady spot and has room to dispose of the heated air it removes from your house. Don’t crowd it with shrubs or anything else.

Plant shade trees and shrubs around your house to help reduce the heat of the sun, especially on the west and south sides. This can reduce your cooling costs by up to 30%.

Close drapes on the sunny side of your house.

Install awnings on the windows on the sunny side of your house.

Sealing up air leaks in your house will reduce your air conditioning costs as well as heating costs. Caulk or seal places where utilities come into your home (plumbing, electricity, dryer vents, etc.). Fill gaps around chimneys. Weatherstrip around drafty windows and doors.

Install energy efficient ceiling fans and run them on hot days. If it’s just a little too warm for comfort, use the ceiling fan without air conditioning. If it’s hot enough to require air conditioning, using the ceiling fans at the same time allows you to raise the temperature setting by five degrees, which will reduce your costs. Use the ceiling fan only when you’re in the room, because running the fan doesn’t actually lower the temperature. The moving air increases the amount of evaporation from your skin and helps cool you off.

The darker the color of your house, the more heat it will absorb, so if you’re building, buying, or considering repainting, choose lighter colors for the exterior.

Thirty percent of the heat in your house is absorbed through the roof. Make sure your attic is properly ventilated. Vents in the eaves allows cooler air to enter. A ridge vent or an attic fan can significantly reduce your cooling costs.

Consider putting reflective window tint on your windows to reduce the amount of heat absorbed.

Any heat that’s generated inside your home has to be removed by your cooling system, so avoid generating heat inside your home whenever possible. Cook on your outdoor grill as often as possible, or use a crockpot and the microwave oven. Use the ‘air dry’ setting on your dishwasher.

Close off rooms that you aren’t using and the cooling ducts to those rooms.

Make sure the cooled air coming from your air conditioning vents is not obstructed by furniture or draperies.

Turn off lights when not in use. Lights produce heat, which makes your air conditioning system work harder (and cost more).

Your computer and other home office equipment also generate heat. Turn them off when not in use.