Cancelling Home Energy Rating: How it Will Affect an Affordable Home

Published on January 04, 2019

Up until fairly recently, the Ontario government had a series of plans to help the province reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to mitigating the effects of climate change. This included a plan to place the EnerGuide Rating system on homes that are put on the market, but it has since been cancelled. We will be seeing a new series of plans being implemented, but encouraging Home Energy Ratings is not one of them.

As part of the EnerGuide Rating system, Home Energy Assessments were set to become a part of the house-selling process, but since the cancellation of home energy ratings, these assessments are not going to be required before a home goes up for sale in Ontario - causing homeowners, homebuyers, homesellers, and realtors to miss out on their benefits.

Home Energy Assessments Increase Home Value and Energy Efficiency

Take two identical homes that are about to be put up for sale. Both are about 15 years old, have seen the same amount of wear and tear during their lifetime, but one will have a Home Energy Assessment before time of sale, while the other will go straight on the housing market. In the home that had the assessment, a series of benefits are provided to all parties involved in the sale.

The homeowner can see an increase in their home’s value for having the assessment done before they decide to put it up for sale, as it will provide potential buyers with more information about the home’s efficiency and operational costs, along with a list of suggestions for improving efficiency in the home that the Registered Energy Advisor recommended when they conducted the assessment.

This gives the home with the Home Energy Assessment a large advantage in terms of buyer interest and market value over the home without. As Home Energy Assesments are now only able to be conducted voluntarily, many homeowners in Ontario are going to miss out on these benefits, and it will remain an optional benefit for homeowners who decided to have an assessment done.

This means that a voluntary Home Energy Assessment can still be conducted by a Registered Energy Advisor at any time, and will still provide the homeowner with many benefits to help improve their home’s value. This can help set the current or new homeowners on a path to improve their energy efficiency and reduce their utility payments.

If the two identical homes were both to have an assessment done before they are put up on the market, they both could see an increase in transparency for the buyer, leading to an easier sale for the homeowner and the realtor. The transparency comes from the valuable information the assessment provides about the home’s expected operating costs, and it lets the buyers move into a more affordable home - as the plan for how efficiency can be improved in the future is already laid out for them.

The More Green Energy Initiatives the Better

By only having voluntary Home Energy Assessments in Ontario, it is not only detrimental to homeowners looking to find extra value in their home, it is also harmful to the environment and is a missed opportunity for the province to help Canada reduce its yearly greenhouse gas emissions. According to a report that was recently released from the Canadian Senate, about 17 percent of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions come from homes and buildings - with the largest contributor to this amount coming from the burning of fossil fuels to heat homes.

By implementing green energy strategies and initiatives that have been shown to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Ontario could work towards improving its air quality, and it could help mitigate the effects of climate change on a global, national, and provincial scale. Although strategies to reduce carbon emissions such as Home Energy Assessments are no longer set to become a staple part of the home-buying process, Canadian homeowners can still contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving their home’s value on their on their own, by scheduling an assessment and following its suggestions to improve their home’s energy efficiency.

Make Your Home into an Affordable Home with Rebates

Improving a home’s level of energy efficiency is an effective way for homeowners to reduce their carbon footprint, and contribute to lowering greenhouse gas emissions in Canada. There are a number of other benefits a home can see from efficiency improvements, such as: an increase in the home’s comfort level and air quality, lower utility bills, and a higher value on today’s housing market.

By taking advantage of the rebates for home renovation that are currently offered to both Enbridgeand Union Gas customers, homeowners in Ontario are able to affordably make investments in their home’s efficiency. A Home Energy Assessment is part of the qualification process for the rebates, and even provides the homeowner with the most cost-effective methods for improving efficiency within their home - making it the best place to start when considering home efficiency improvements. After all, an efficient home is an affordable home that is ready for a green energy future.