Existing Homes

You’d be surprised what you’d learn from a home energy assessment. The thermal efficiency of your house is largely dependent on how well it’s sealed and insulated, and these areas are often overlooked. A home energy assessment takes it a step further and looks at how the home is being used and how the mechanical systems within it affect the energy use.

Other benefits include;

• Access rebates to help lower your yearly energy consumption by installing high-efficiency products in your home.
• Improve indoor air quality and comfort
• Lower the greenhouse gas emissions of your home and your environmental footprint and help achieve our climate targets.
• Explore solutions for energy efficiency issues such as drafts, molds, stuffiness, outside noise etc.
• Reduce your carbon footprint
• Prioritized & Unbiased Upgrade Recommendations
• Our energy advisors are licensed with Natural Resources Canada and provide comprehensive and impartial service.
• Talk to our advisors about your priorities and let them identify upgrade options for accessing the many rebates available today!

A blower door test is used to measure the air tightness of your home. One blower door test takes about 30 minutes to complete.

Your energy advisor will set up a blower door fan in an exterior door that depressurizes the home by sucking air out. To equalize the pressure difference between inside and outside, outdoor air will flow into the home through all cracks, holes and gaps in your building envelope. While the blower door fan is running the energy advisor will walk through the home to take notes of all leaky areas that you should focus on when draftproofing. Feel free to join your advisor. You may be surprised by all leaks in your house!

The data from the blower door test is used for the energy model. Your home will receive an air leakage score in Air Changes per hour at a 50 Pascal pressure difference – that means the amount of time the whole home air volume is replaced per hour when the home is depressurized. The Equivalent Air Leakage Area that you can find on the Homeowner Information Sheet shows the size of a hole that is equivalent to the accumulated size of all cracks and gaps in your home in square cm and square inches.

Is the Blower Door Test Dangerous for Me or My Pets?
You can safely remain in your home during a blower door test. The fan does create some noise that may scare some pets. Also, if you have vermiculite in your home, we may not complete the blower door test. Read below for more information.

Your energy advisor will take measurements and assess the efficiency of your home’s windows, doors, space and hot water heating systems, ventilation, and insulation.

Using the Blower Door depressurization test, your advisor will measure the air exchange in your home to find out whether your home is too leaky or under-ventilated. While the fan is running, you can walk through the home with your energy advisor to find all the air leakage spots. You’d be surprised at all the hidden leaks!

Your advisor will perform a safety check called an Exhaust Depressurization Test to see whether conditions exist that could cause your home’s exhaust systems to pull dangerous combustion gases, including carbon monoxide, into the home. Your advisor will let you know if you are at risk and provide guidance on who you can contact to fix it.
After your advisor has completed the assessment and all tests, they will talk to you about concerns, issues, or renovation plans you may have for your home. You can discuss reasons for renovation plans, your budget, and other priorities. You will talk about financial incentives you could receive for certain upgrades and take your concerns into consideration when they model your home with software.

After the evaluation, the advisor will create an energy model based on the site visit. You will receive the Renovation Upgrade Report and a Homeowner Information Sheet. The Renovation Upgrade Report provides customized, unbiased and prioritized upgrade recommendations for your home. It also informs you about your current and potential EnerGuide Rating.
At Your Post-Retrofit EnerGuide Home Evaluation

You may choose to complete a post-retrofit evaluation to learn how your home’s energy efficiency has improved since you finishing renovations. Completing a post-retrofit evaluation after completing renovations is also the gateway to accessing some of the energy efficiency rebates available.

Your energy advisor will return to your home and check your home’s energy performance after completing upgrades and renovations.
The advisor will document the changes in your home since your pre-retrofit evaluation and create an updated energy model of your home. The data will be used to generate an updated EnerGuide Rating, EnerGuide Label, and Homeowner Information Sheet.
If you are planning to access rebates, ensure that you have all of the necessary documentation for your application at this stage. If you are selling your home, consider including your EnerGuide rating in the listing for your home to show a third-party verified confirmation of your home’s efficiency.