Hello, Ontario residents! Here at Tropic Air Heating & Air Conditioning, we support you in conserving energy and improving the comfort of your home. We are dedicated to helping you achieve greater energy efficiency and a more enjoyable living space while keeping your money in your pocket.

Have you heard about the Canada Greener Homes Grant?

As of January 4th 2023, this grant is co-delivered across Ontario by Natural Resources Canada and Enbridge Gas in Ontario as part of the Home Efficiency Rebate Plus (HER+) program. Rebates in Ontario are financial incentives provided to encourage homeowners and businesses to upgrade their heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and lower energy consumption. Eligible homeowners in Ontario can receive a cheque of up to $10,000 from the federal government for upgrading their old furnace to a new high-efficiency central AC or ductless heat pump system. In addition, the applicant can qualify for an additional rebate for installing a new AC if the property does not currently have one. We recommended contacting us to know your total savings, as the government is giving money back for saving the planet in a greener way. Now let’s talk about eligibility. Homeowners must provide proof of ownership and show that the home is their primary residence to qualify for the Canada Greener Home Grant.

Types of homes that will qualify are the following:

• Enbridge Gas customers (Homes that are space heated with Enbridge Gas natural gas that is the owner’s primary residence.)
• Enbridge Gas customers with tenants (Homes that are space heated with Enbridge Gas natural gas but are not the owner’s primary residence.)
• Non-Enbridge Gas customers (Rebates for homeowners who do not heat their homes with Enbridge Gas.)
• Off-grid communities (Communities not currently connected to the North American electrical grid nor to the piped natural gas network, living in a permanent or long-term (five years or more) settlement with at least 10 dwellings.)
• Multi-residential builds. (Owners in some low-rise and mixed-use properties are eligible for rebates.)

These homes do not qualify for the program:

• Homes not space-heated by Enbridge Gas, where the owner is not the primary resident (rental units).
• Multi-unit residential buildings (MURB) with more than 3 stories or larger than 600 m2. Homes were built less than 6 months ago.
• Mixed-use buildings where less than 50 percent of the building is residential living space.
• Homes that have already gone through the Home Efficiency Rebate Plus (HER+) or Canada Greener Homes Grant (CGHG) programs and maxed out their incentive at $10,000 for Enbridge space-heated customers, and $5,000 for non-Enbridge customers.
• Homes that have already started work on the upgrades before they conduct their pre-retrofit energy assessment.

All rebate programs have specific requirements that include the type of HVAC unit, energy efficiency standards, and the age of the existing equipment. Further information can be found for assessment on the Enbridge Gas website. Applicant’s rebates are often available for energy-efficient equipment, which includes furnaces, boilers, air conditioners, heat pumps, and thermostats. They need to meet certain efficiency standards which are measured in Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) and Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE). With us we can get you approved up to $7,800 for space and water heating. With Energy Star-certified hot water heat pumps use up to 70% less energy. Ground source, air source and domestic hot water heat pumps will qualify for the rebate. We can get you rebated for $125 for smart thermostats to boost comfort and reduce cost by saving energy automatically. Beneficial energy savings with a Tankless Hot Water Heater for rebate is recommended to help Ontarians reduce energy use, save money, and address climate change. To give an example I would like to introduce Danny. Danny is a new homeowner who bought his house in Toronto, Ontario. He noticed his recently purchased house to feel chilly during the day and night. Despite the constant running of his HVAC system he is only facing higher bills and is looking to upgrade his space and water heating. After discussing with us at Tropic Air, we evaluated the cost savings and ways to make Danny’s house energy efficiently warm in time for the winter. First Danny was able to receive a rebate of $6,500 for installing a ground source heat pump. He is now able to use 25% to 50% less electricity than his previous conventional heating or cooling system. In addition without combustion and no emission of potentially dangerous gas, Danny feels safer while without fuel storage he saves space in his house. As a bonus he changed his manual thermostat to a smart thermostat. From a simple change, he was able to rebate $125. With his smart thermostat, he is now able to control his temperature and program automatically anywhere anytime. As Danny uses these features according to his lifestyle patterns he is unknowingly reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the overall carbon footprint associated with heating and cooling. As simple as this sounds we can help you not only save money from the rebate but from long-term spending while helping with environmental benefits. For the application process to work the applicant will need to follow intricate steps to make sure the application does not get denied or take a long time. Each Ontario HVAC rebate program has its own terms and requirements. If you apply for HER+ you can follow these steps which are effective from January 4th, 2023 for new Ontario homeowners. STEP 1: Go to the Enbridge (HER+ program) web page to complete a questionnaire to get started and select a service organization. STEP 2: Pre-retrofit EnerGuide evaluation to prioritize your renovations. STEP 3: Retrofit your home by consulting your Renovation Upgrade Report (RUR). STEP 4: The post-retrofit EnerGuide evaluation document will be sent by your energy advisor. STEP 5: Receive your Canada Greener Homes Grant and HER+ program rebate once approved for eligibility. *If you need to apply for an interest-free loan you can add this step after STEP 2 from the Canada Greener Home Loan site. These steps can be stressful without knowing if requirements are correctly tasked to successfully receive the rebate. Knowing this, let us help you maximize your rebate and make sure the submission is successful within the shortest amount of time. We can help you when you purchase a furnace, AC, heat pump or water heater from us! With a quick call or request, we can provide a quote for your home. We can answer all your questions and stress-free your troubles on this journey.