BRAG survey on city heat pump program get a thumbs down

By Pepper Parr

October 14th, 2024

BURLINGTON, ON

 

Burlington Residents Action Group (BRAG) ran a very short survey soliciting views on the heat pump program the city is currently running.

A large heat pump – they come in various sizes – depending on the size of the house you have.

Homeowners can now apply for an interest-free loan of up to $10,000 for the purchase and installation of an air-source heat pump. Application is done through the City’s Better Homes Burlington Pilot program. Homes that are more energy efficient use less energy, save the homeowner money, and produce fewer greenhouse gases.

This was a pilot program in 2023; there is reason to believe that the program will be carried forward.

Results of a BRAG survey on the city Better Homes Heat Pump program. The data shown was captured during the first 24 hours to survey was available.

City staff were available to act as a support for homeowners to assist in finding rebates and grants from businesses and different levels of government for the purpose of improving home energy efficiencies.

The connection to city staff is: burlington.ca/betterhomes or email betterhomes@burlington.ca.

The “Better Homes Burlington” pilot program opened in September 2023 and provides interest-free loans up to $10,000.

The federal “Canada Greener Homes Loan” program started in January of 2024 and provides interest-free loans up to $40,000.

The Better Homes Burlington pilot program opened in September 2023, and accepted applications until January 2024. In March 2024, Council voted to extend the Better Homes Burlington pilot program for an additional application cycle. Applications will be accepted until the end of December 2024, or until the program is fully subscribed, whichever comes first.

We were very surprised to learn that a member of Council applied for and was apparently accepted for the program.  Bad enough that this Councillor no longer lives in the ward he represents – but now appears to be able to dip into a program in which the number of loan possibilities is limited.  Most people think Council members are more than adequately paid.

The Canada Greener Homes Loan program is administered through CMHC and provides interest-free loans of up to $40,000, repayable over 10 years, to Canadians for the same kinds of retrofits eligible under the Greener Homes Grant program. This low-cost financing option for home retrofits results in energy cost savings for Canadians that can then be used to help repay the loan over a 10-year time period. To qualify for the Greener Homes Loan program, a mandatory pre and post-retrofit evaluation by an energy auditor has been and will continue to be a requirement under the program.

What did residents think of the city program ?  Not that much.

The survey was posted on a number of platforms.

Click HERE if you want to take the survey

 

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