The ENERGY STAR® Initiative From the Government of Canada

January 29, 2017

The Government of Canada's ENERGY STAR® initiative is designed to encourage home energy efficiency across the country. Collaborating with industry leaders, the program helps Canadians to focus on their home energy usage, and save money on energy bills from season to season. The familiar ENERGY STAR® logo already identifies various home products that are energy efficient, and in many new-built homes, the logo will identify a residence that is highly energy efficient. The ENERGY STAR® logo has been helping Canadian consumers for quite some time already. The icon identifies products that qualify as high efficiency, allowing homeowners to shop more wisely for higher efficiency products. As a voluntary partnership between government and industry, the department of Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) registers both manufacturers and retailers to be part of the ENERGY STAR® program. Many products are made easily available in the market. With energy efficiency becoming more and more of a priority in Canada, ENERGY STAR® is one of three efforts that are underway to promote and encourage energy efficiency across the nation.

• ENERGY STAR® identifies products that meet or exceed high efficiency specifications
• Energy Efficiency Regulations set minimum standards for performance and efficiency
• EnerGuide is Canada's labeling system for all major appliances and HVAC equipment

The EnerGuide Home Evaluation Program

The EnerGuide Home Evaluation Program is designed to help homeowners improve home energy efficiency, while enhancing indoor comfort. An evaluation provides valuable information about energy performance throughout the home - it can often help a homeowner to decide what types of upgrades/retrofits should be made in order to reduce energy consumption. Overall, this is the best way to save dollars and cents on heating and cooling costs throughout the entire year. EnerGuide Home Evaluations also help homeowners to understand personal energy consumption patterns. In this way, better lifestyle choices can be made going forward. Even more, evaluations will identify areas of weakness that can be remedied for improved energy performance. Here, a homeowner can decide which upgrade or retrofit will bring the most benefit, and which will save the most money on energy costs. Simply put, an in-depth evaluation is the first step forward.

The EnerGuide Home Evaluation Process

• A certified energy advisor comes into the home to assess energy performance from the attic to the basement. Advisers are energy experts, with substantial industry experience.
• The assessment provides detailed information about overall energy performance, and advises which retrofits/upgrades would be best for reducing overall energy consumption.
• With a completed assessment, an EnerGuide Rating is assigned to the home, demonstrating the energy performance. There would also be a "label of proof" of the energy rating.
• EnerGuide Home Evaluations often include specific recommendations for improvement. These would help the homeowner expedite work with the best return on investment.

Whether a homeowner decides to weatherize the home from top to bottom, or insulate specific areas like the attic or basement, every measure contributes to improved energy efficiency. The idea, of course, is to reduce seasonal energy consumption and save money year after year.