By helping Canadians upgrade their homes to be more energy-efficient, the Government of Canada, and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) are helping tackle climate change, create good jobs and reduce monthly bills. That is why both are making it easier for retrofits to happen through investments like the one announced today in British Columbia.
Through the Green Municipal Fund's (GMF) Community Efficiency Financing (CEF) program, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources, and FCM President Scott Pearce announced an investment of up to $500,000 to support HomeZero Collective Society's home retrofitting pilot project in the City of Vernon, B.C.
The project focuses on retrofitting 10 to 15 homes within Vernon, using lessons learned from a previously funded GMF study which looked at incentivizing whole neighbourhoods to participate in a home energy retrofitting financing program.
As part of the pilot project, the retrofit measures are expected to reduce home emissions by 85 to 99% thanks to the installation of geothermal or air source heat pumps, solar PV, hybrid electric hot water systems, and electric vehicle charging outlets. Performance monitoring systems will also be installed to show energy and emissions reductions to homeowners.
If successful, the pilot could be scaled up to include more homes and neighbourhoods and could act as a roadmap for other communities.
GMF, administered by FCM, is funded through an endowment by the Government of Canada. GMF helps local governments switch to sustainable practices faster. Its unique mix of funding, resources and training gives municipalities the tools they need to build resiliency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
CEF is one of the ways GMF continues to build on its 20-year record of supporting transformative environmental initiatives at the community level. CEF helps communities by providing capital to homeowners to make their homes more energy-efficient while creating local jobs and keeping the economy moving.
