The City of Toronto launched a financing program for incentivising Deep Energy Retrofits of existing homes called Home Energy Loan Program (HELP). As the link says “Low interest loans are available to qualifying homeowners who are interested in improving the energy and water efficiency of their home. Through HELP, the City will provide the funding required to complete the improvements and the homeowner will repay the City over time through installments on their property tax bill.”
Since roll out, 120 homeowners are in the process of renovating their homes and about 50 participants have completed their projects. Though not currently available in every area of the city, people everywhere are encouraged to apply in anticipation of a city-wide roll out.
The benefits of the HELP program include:
1. Avoiding the large upfront cost of home energy improvements and pay for them over time.
2. The fact that financing is attached to the property, not to the property owner. If you sell the property before the loan is repaid, the new owner will assume the balance of the loan and continue to repay it through the property tax bill.
3. The fact the loan can be paid off any time, without penalty.
4. The benefit from low interest rates and longer repayment terms, compared to conventional financing.
5. Incentives of up to $2,000 are available from Enbridge Gas, including a rebate to cover the cost of your home energy assessments. And an incentive of up to $650 is available from Toronto Hydro for replacing your furnace and air conditioner with high efficiency units.
