EnerGuide for Houses incentive: Are you eligible?

EnerGuide for Houses incentive: Are you eligible?

The EnerGuide for Houses service, which was launched in 1998 by Natural Resources Canada's Office of Energy Efficiency, identifies opportunities for energy efficiency improvements in your home. Even if you are one of the 60 000 Canadians who have already used the service, you may still be eligible for a new incentive available under the program. It's worth looking into.

The incentive program was announced in August 2003 to provide Canadians, especially those with older houses, with extra motivation to improve the energy efficiency of their home. The amount of the incentive is based on the difference in the EnerGuide for Houses energy efficiency rating before and after upgrades are implemented – the greater the improvement in the rating, the larger the incentive, to a maximum of $3,348. The average grant is $700.

Research by Natural Resources Canada shows that homeowners who have renovated after using the service achieved average energy savings of 32 percent. They also trimmed their home's greenhouse gas emissions by 2.2 tonnes per year, putting these families well on the way to meeting the government's challenge for Canadians to reduce their personal production of greenhouse gases by one tonne per year as part of Canada's strategy for implementing the Kyoto Protocol.

Past customers of the EnerGuide for Houses service and those who would like to follow their lead in taking action to save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions can visit energuideforhouses.gc.ca or call 1 800 387-2000 (toll-free) or 995-2943 in the National Capital Region for information about the incentive.  

New incentives help homeowners and the environment

New incentives help homeowners and the environment

It just got easier for Canadians to do their part to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change thanks to a new federal incentive that provides extra motivation for improving the energy efficiency of your home.

Beginning this fall, homeowners who undertake renovations may be eligible for an incentive of up to $3,348 if they can demonstrate that the project has made their home more energy efficient. The incentive is part of the EnerGuide for Houses Program, launched by Natural Resources Canada's Office of Energy Efficiency in 1998 to help homeowners identify and undertake energy efficiency upgrades.

With the EnerGuide for Houses service, an independent energy advisor visits the home, performs a basement-to-attic energy evaluation, calculates an energy efficiency rating and recommends measures to reduce energy consumption while maintaining a healthy living environment. After the homeowner has completed some or all of the recommended upgrades, the advisor performs a follow-up evaluation and determines the new energy efficiency rating.

Among the more commonly recommended improvements are caulking and weatherstripping around doors and windows, upgrading insulation and replacing old, inefficient heating systems. In addition to reducing energy bills and increasing comfort, such measures are good for the environment – the less energy a home consumes, the fewer greenhouse gas emissions it produces.

Now, the Government of Canada has introduced an incentive that will allow eligible homeowners to recoup some of their investment when they implement improvements recommended by an EnerGuide for Houses advisor. The amount of the incentive is calculated based on the home's rating before and after upgrades are completed – the greater the improvement, the larger the incentive.

The incentive is part of the government's strategy for implementing the Kyoto Protocol, under which Canada is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 6 percent below 1990 levels by 2012. Homeowners who renovated after using the EnerGuide for Houses service achieve average energy savings of 32 percent and greenhouse gas reductions of 2.2 tonnes per year, putting these families well on their way to meeting the government's challenge to Canadians to reduce their personal production of greenhouse gases by one tonne per year.

For more information about the incentive program or to locate a licensed EnerGuide for Houses agent in your area, visit energuideforhouses.gc.ca or call 1 800 387-2000 (toll-free) or 995-2943 in the National Capital Region.

Bathroom Remodeling Made Easy

Bathroom Remodeling Made Easy

These days, you can’t turn on the TV without viewing a new episode of home improvement shows like “Trading Spaces” or “Hometime.” A report issued this year by Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies calls home improvement the new “great national pastime.” In 2001, Americans spent an estimated $214 billion on home improvements, maintenance and repairs. All indicators point to this remodeling-mania continuing for sometime.

Take a look around your own home. Is what you’ve been referring to as your “time-honored home décor” really just old fashioned? If so, maybe it’s time for you to join the remodeling parade. The good news is: there are lots of easy, low cost ways to give your home’s look a nice pick-me-up.

The bathroom is one of the most popular targets for home improvement. While any project involving plumbing tends to intimidate the average homeowner, there is a lot of new product technology designed with the do-it-yourselfer in mind.

One of the easiest and most cost efficient ways to spruce up a bathroom is to replace the faucets. “Improvements like this have a huge impact on the functional and aesthetic value of the space. You can create an entirely new theme for your bathroom -- such as contemporary, old world, or European -- based on the design of your faucet,” says Angie Coffman, director, Delta product marketing for Delta Faucet Company.

Before purchasing a new faucet, it’s a good idea to do some preliminary research. You may also want to consider a budget before beginning your search, as prices can vary widely. You will find that there are many different styles and designs in bathroom faucets. Consider ahead of time whether you want a single-handle or a double-handle faucet. Notice how the handles feel in the palm of your hand. Do you want something that is delicate or more heavy-duty? Explore different spout designs and finishes as well. Decide whether or not you want an escutcheon, the decorative plate beneath a faucet. An escutcheon will also cover extra holes that might be drilled in the sink.

Look for a faucet that installs easily -- you may notice language like “quick connect ” or “no adjust,” indicating that minimal tools are required. Pay close attention to the existing hole configuration on your sink. How many are there and how far apart are they? Do you need a single-hole, 4-inch center-set, or a wall-mounted faucet? Your single-handle faucet may have three holes underneath, but you don’t necessarily have to replace it with another single-handle. There’s a design, called a “mini-widespread,” which provides flexibility for customers who have a single-handle faucet, but are looking to switch to a double handle, widespread look. The Victorian Mini-widespread from Delta is an example of a faucet that offers intricate, old-world styling in a smaller sink setting.

Make a Lasting Improvement
Look for a design that won’t soon be outdated and one that will complement the rest of your bathroom, “one that will stand out without sticking out,” according to Coffman. “Keep in mind that you will probably be using this new faucet for years, so choose something that is durable, versatile, and a brand that is considered reliable.”

Installing high quality products in a bathroom will result in a high return on your home remodeling investment. That is why it is important to choose a faucet that offers long-lasting, worry-free performance. You want to look for things like solid brass construction and a company that offers a lifetime limited warranty, along with customer support, in case you have questions while installing the faucet yourself.

Now that you are ready to give your bathroom the facelift it has been waiting for, have a few tools handy for the installation. A pair of adjustable pliers, along with an Allen wrench and basin wrench, will probably be necessary. Also pick up some silicone or caulk, and Teflon tape. Always double check the instructions on your faucet for any other tools or supplies needed.

If you are looking for additional support, try consulting your local home improvement store. Or, check out manufacturer Web sites, such as deltafaucet.com, for installation tips. As you join the millions of Americans remodeling their homes this year, choose your projects wisely and remember that even seemingly small changes, like a bathroom fixture upgrade, can add value to your home. 

Do You Make These Window Replacement Mistakes ?

Do You Make These Window Replacement Mistakes ?

Whether it's a misguided baseball, or storm damage, sooner or later most homeowners will have to deal with window replacement, a chore that is not high on any handyman's list of things they want to do with their spare time.

This could involve storm window replacement, replacement of window screens, or installing an entire replacement window. No matter the reason for the work, you really need to take a few things into account before heading for the building supply store.

The first consideration is the age of your home. Older houses, particularly farm-style or country houses, tend to have very old types of windows, consisting of wooden sashes and hardware that is no longer made. If you wish to keep the antique look intact, you might have to search out a supplier of obsolete or out-of-date locks and fastenings to complete your work.

Most modern houses lean towards convenience, and window replacement for them is fairly simple, involving a building industry standard sized window that is easy to acquire. These are also the type of windows that have such features as sliding multiple panes that save you the bother of storm window replacement.

They do, however, have screen panels for summer, but screen window replacements for modern windows are also easy to obtain, and pop right into the sliding tracks.

If you're considering window replacement for energy efficiency, it is unlikely you will get exactly the same
dimension windows that you have now, unless they are custom made. In that case, it would be wise to seek the advice of experts at your building supply store, or hire a professional to make sure you get the most out of your remodeling dollars.

Get Your Home Ready To Sell

Get Your Home Ready To Sell

Have you been considering selling your home in the near future? If you have, then it wouldn't be a bad idea to take a good long look at your home, using an unbiased eye.

After all, a clean, appealing, well maintained home has much better odds of selling, selling for more, and selling faster.

When looking at your house, the thing you need to keep repeating to yourself is that “first impressions are lasting impressions.” This couldn't be truer when it comes to selling real estate.

However, this doesn't mean that you should take on a major renovation project just so that you can sell your property. Remember, there are no guarantees that you would recover the costs of an enormous overhaul.

Instead, take a more conservative approach, and have a look at the different cosmetic improvements that can be made for an overall improvement. These can include things such as cleaning, painting, refinishing, and other such efforts. These are the projects that don't require all that much capital, and yet they make an immeasurable improvement to the overall look of your home.

Before you take on any fix-up-for-sale projects, take on the mindset that you are sprucing up your home in order to sell it. Don't think of it as fixing it up for someone else. You're trying to create more of an appealing look than you are a perfect home.

If you fix up the house with a certain person in mind, you're limiting your market. Limiting your market will usually mean a slower sale, and a lower selling price.

So instead of tackling a whole mess of huge projects, just focus on making the home attractive, clean, presentable, and well maintained. Let the new owners do their own customizations. 

Older homes benefit most from energy efficiency incentive

Older homes benefit most from energy efficiency incentive

If your home is more than 25 years old and due for some renovation work, you might want to look into a new incentive program announced by the Government of Canada to encourage energy efficiency upgrades in the residential sector.

The incentive is part of the EnerGuide for Houses Program, launched in 1998 by Natural Resources Canada's Office of Energy Efficiency, which helps Canadians improve the energy efficiency of their homes to save money, increase comfort and reduce greenhouse gas emissions that are contributing to climate change.

The EnerGuide for Houses service involves a visit to your home by a licensed agent who performs an energy evaluation, calculates an energy efficiency rating for the house, and recommends measures to reduce energy consumption while maintaining a healthy living environment. After improvements have been made, the advisor returns to perform a follow-up evaluation and establish a new energy efficiency rating.

For eligible homeowners, the amount of the EnerGuide for Houses incentive is based on the difference in the energy efficiency rating before and after upgrades are implemented – the greater the improvement in the rating, the larger the incentive, to a maximum of $3,348. The average incentive is $700.

Homes built before 1975 offer the most potential for energy efficiency improvements and for large incentives. Research shows that owners of homes that are more than 25 years old can reduce energy consumption by an average of 32 percent using the EnerGuide for Houses service; for homes 50 years old or more, average energy savings increase to 38 percent.

For more information about the incentive program or to locate a licensed EnerGuide for Houses agent in your area, visit energuideforhouses.gc.ca or call 1 800 387-2000 (toll-free) or 995-2943 in the National Capital Region. 

Con Artist Prevention Tips

Con Artist Prevention Tips

The con artist's philosophy is "the gullible were put on this earth to be gulled." In the past, con artists were usually referred to as con men. This is no longer the case as more and more women have become involved in con games and numerous variations of con games. Before we proceed with some tips on "how not to get conned" you should always remember that a con artist could be a male or a female. In addition, many times the con artist will work with a child who will assist them in accomplishing their goal. That goal is to GET YOUR MONEY.

Here are some good rules to follow all the time - whether or not you suspect a fraud:

• Don't believe in something-for-nothing offers. You get what you pay for.
• Be suspicious of high-pressure sales efforts.
• Take your time; think about it before you part with your money.
• Get all agreements in writing. Insist that agreements be in plain English and not legalese.
• Read all contracts and agreements before signing. Have a lawyer examine all major contracts.
• Beware of anyone who comes to your door asking for money for charity or for personal reasons.

HOME IMPROVEMENT FRAUD
Home repairs and improvements can be costly. Watch out if:

• Somebody offers to do an expensive job for an unusually low price
• If a firm offers to make a "free" inspection or if the person just happened to be in the neighborhood.
• The most popular home improvement frauds are roof repair and painting, driveway sealing, and termite inspection.

To avoid home improvement and repair fraud, try the following:

• Always get several estimates for every repair job, and compare prices and terms. Check to see if there is a charge for estimates.
• Ask your friends for recommendations. Alternatively, ask the firm for references - and CHECK THEM!
• Check the identification of all "inspectors."
• Call the loan Consumer Affairs office or the Better Business Bureau to check the company's reputation before you authorize any work.
• Be suspicious of high-pressure sales tactics.
• Pay by check - never with cash. Arrange to make the payments in installments.

Remember, it's YOUR hard-earned money at stake here. Don't be so willing to "give it away" without a second thought.