Nanaimo Council invests to help residents reduce emissions & save money

Rebates are available for home energy saving renovations

NEWS RELEASE - Distributed June 6, 2022 11:30 AM

Summary

On May 30, 2022, Nanaimo City Council allocated an additional $100,000 from the Climate Action Reserve Fund to support the City's continued participation in the Province of British Columbia's CleanBC Better Homes Rebate Program. This supports the continuation of a two-year partnership between the City of Nanaimo and the Province of BC to encourage home energy retrofits and reduce residential building emissions.

Through the CleanBC program, Nanaimo homeowners who apply for a home energy renovation rebate may be eligible for additional rebates provided by the City of Nanaimo. Nanaimo homeowners could receive up to $15,000 in rebates from the Provincial CleanBC funding as well as an additional $1,400 from the City. These additional amounts are also processed by CleanBC, and qualifying homeowners will receive these top-up amounts with their CleanBC rebates - no additional applications are required.

Rebates are available for a variety of home energy renovations including installing a heat pump, home energy assessments, door and window replacement, insulation, ventilation equipment and electrical and hot water heating equipment upgrades. Although the CleanBC program no longer includes a rebate for home energy assessments, the City of Nanaimo continues to offer a rebate to offset the cost of both initial and follow-up home energy assessments.

Existing low-rise residential buildings make up approximately 18 per cent of the City’s total emissions or about 89,070 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. Since the start of the program with an initial investment of $100,000 in April 2020, Nanaimo has been one of the most active municipalities in B.C. in terms of program uptake. The program issued 359 rebates in Nanaimo and helped reduce approximately 774 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, primarily through upgrades from oil and natural gas to electric heat pumps. Electric heat pumps produce 97 per cent less greenhouse gas emissions than a high-efficiency natural gas furnace, can provide heating and cooling without a secondary air conditioner and are up to 300 per cent more efficient than electric baseboards. They have become an effective option for homeowners to reduce their emissions, receive year-round comfort and save money on home heating.

CleanBC has recently launched an income-qualified zero interest financing program to provide a loan of up to $40,000 for switching from a fossil fuel (oil, propane or natural gas) heating system to a heat pump. Other income-qualified rebates are available that can cover up to 60 to 95% of home upgrade costs with maximum values of $9,500 for windows, doors and heat pumps, $5,500 for insulation and up to $3,500 for heat pump water heaters.

For more information on available, visit the Rebate Assessment page on www.nanaimo.ca and the CleanBC website at www.betterhomesbc.ca

Link to Strategic Plan: This program supports Council's goal of Environmental Responsibility by taking a leadership role and focusing on our environmental impact and climate change contributions.

Print News Release

Is there anything wrong with this page?

Help us improve our website

Don't include private or financial information in this form.

Email Address

What you were doing

What went wrong

reCAPTCHA failed - Please try again.

Collection and use of your personal information

Information collected on this form is done so under the general authority of the Community Charter and Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPPA), and is protected in accordance with FOIPPA. Questions about the collection of your personal information may be referred to the Legislative Services Department at 250-755-4405, or via email at foi@nanaimo.ca. Please also see our Privacy Policy.