Next Steps

Satellite antenna after the freezing rain – still working!

Pretty cold February but the house performed well – no drafts, constant temperature and humidity making it pretty comfortable. My Danish wood stove also performing efficiently – combusting completely and creating very little pollution by exceeding EPA standards.

Morso airtight wood stove nice in the evening…

I am slowly using the scraps of wood to make a small fire in the evenings. Generally a 1-2 hour fire keeps the house warm until morning and then the heat pump kicks in.

I have started the next steps in the process to apply for funding and grants for the next steps in the project. I want to add my solar panels, external solar blinds to keep the heat out in the summer and a level 2 EV charger in the garage.

I am going to make use to two programs:

a) Greener Homes Grant (GHG): The GHG program is under the direction of Natural Resources Canada (NRCan). This government program is offering up to $5,000 for the grant along with an additional $600 toward the overall cost of the 2 energy audits (i.e., pre-retrofit and post-retrofit audit). See the link.

b) Better Homes Ottawa Loan: a municipal program that will offer a zero-interest loan of up to 10% of your home value for renewable energy, efficiency, resilience, health and climate adaptation measures. This loan is then paid via your property taxes. In the event you sell your home, any remaining debt goes with the house as the new owners will still be reaping the rewards of these energy savings. The link for this program: betterhomesottawa.ca

The idea with these programs is to help with the capital expenditure needed to reduce out greenhouse emissions, and allow the homeowner to pay for them using the energy savings (electricity, gas, oil, propane,…) they experience from the upgrades. Most upgrades like solar panels, insulation, better windows, air barriers all will last at least the duration of the loan and therefore continue to pay for themselves.

I have now applied for both and hope to be able to add these upgrades this summer. I have already the quote for the solar panels from Execon who did my roof and already ran the cables for the system.

The solar blinds still need to be sourced along with the EV charger. A good source of info on EVs and chargers is a group in Ottawa, the Electric Vehicle Council of Ottawa.

View to the south at the end of the day – bird feeder on the left

View to the east with the house casting a shadow on the pine