Make careful choice when doing energy audit: experts

Make careful choice when doing energy audit: experts

Regional News

By: Jessica Young

There are thieves hiding in your home.

Every day they take your hard-earned money and damage the environment, all in one swoop.

Air leakages, outdated refrigerators and old heating systems are the culprits, contributing to high energy bills and wasting energy.

Federal and provincial governments are pushing for business and home retrofitting, hoping to ease the pressure on strained electricity grids.

In Ontario, a slew of home energy audit companies have cropped up, each having their own package deals and promises. With more companies entering the market, Windfall Ecology Centre executive director Brent Kopperson says homeowners should be careful.

Ask how long someone has been in the business and ask if they are affiliated with any contractors or suppliers, understand they are motivated to sell you products, he said.

It is important to get at least three quotes from different suppliers if you choose retrofit, Mr. Kopperson warned.

The cost of a house evaluation may not include the basement, so find out exactly what area of the house a home energy audit will cover with each company, he said.

The Windfall Ecology Centre has an audit service and partnered with Natural Resources Canada to pilot a program in 1997.

“We give independent third party advice. We are not selling anything,” he said.

EnWise is one privately owned company that launched a 2008 campaign to help save Ontarians money through home energy audits.

While the company admits it has relationships with contractors, Phil Winters, the company’s chief sustainability officer, says having connections to retrofitting suppliers helps homeowners.

“If you eliminate all the barriers, there is a higher percentage that you will take up the challenge (and retrofit),” Mr. Winters said.

Finding three quotes, juggling the responsibility of finding a gas contractor, searching for a new heater and installing new insulation can be too onerous and the likelihood of residents taking initiative is low, EnWise energy auditor Derek Brown said.

“We’re taking a lot of that headache out,” Mr. Brown said.

Having one company handle the grunt work is what makes EnWise stand out among the crowds as an easy solution, Mr. Brown said.

“It’s certainly beneficial for an agency to act as a facilitator. Sometimes there’s a difference between an independent facilitator and one that wants you to purchase their services,” Mr. Kopperson said. 

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