Many centuries ago, a Greek philosopher by the name of Heraclitus said that “change is the only constant in life”. While not all ideologies hold up well over time, this one is surely as true today as it was then. In the bigger picture, it hasn’t been all that long since the Government of Canada announced the Greener Homes Grant as part of a larger initiative to help decarbonize. It’s certainly made a huge change in the HVAC industry and has also helped homeowners alike. The financial incentives offered initially, and at present, are extremely significant!
There are rumours, though, that this is coming to an end – or at least, will change – in the new year. While we await a formal announcement from Natural Resources Canada about the future of its grant program, and we expect change, we know with certainty that the GHG has been extremely popular with homeowners who have been able to save many thousands of dollars on new windows and doors or higher efficiency heating and cooling equipment.
The suspicion is that while the program will continue, the amount of dollars offered to each homeowner will decrease. This strategy ensures that the money set aside for the program reaches the maximum number of homes and has the largest impact.
The other thing we know for sure at this point is that there’s still time to qualify under the existing program terms. Any homeowner who qualifies under the existing rules and has their initial audit done before March 1st, 2024 will still qualify for the current grant amount (up to $6,500 for a qualifying heat pump plus $600 towards your audit fees) as long as the equipment is installed and a post-audit is completed within the following 365 days.
As rumours and news continue to fuel conversation around this topic, the best advice is simple, and time-sensitive: book your audit NOW.
Whether you’re strongly considering replacing an aging furnace or air conditioner, want to go green, or frankly aren’t that concerned at all – you should still book an audit right away to ensure that you’ve got the option to take advantage of the substantial government grant money. You can work with an energy auditor directly, and then seek a quote from your trusted heating and cooling contractor, or in some cases, your contractor will help setup these appointments for you.
Whatever your position is on what might happen next, or what type of equipment you prefer, we can all agree that saving our hard-earned money is a purely good thing, and that making choices that are helpful to the environment helps preserve the planet for future generations.
