Burlington council approves loan program for home energy upgrades

Burlington residents can soon receive financial support to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and their carbon footprint.

At a meeting on March 22, city councillors approved a proposed interest-bearing loan that could be up to $10,000 per household for air source heat pump and leak sealing to improve energy efficiency.

This Home Energy Efficiency Retrofit (HERO) initiative is one of the key program areas identified in the city’s climate action plan.

“It’s a great step forward because most of the greenhouse gas emissions come from private homes, businesses or transportation, not the government,” said Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward.

“Even if we get to net-zero at the city operations, that accounts for only about 10 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions in the city. So we really need to partner with our residents and businesses to tackle this issue.”

The strategy includes a goal of more than 50,000 existing homes requiring energy retrofits, such as the installation of heat pumps.

A maximum of 50 homes would be eligible during the pilot program.

The program was developed in collaboration with the Centre for Climate Change Management at Mohawk College and the Bay Area Climate Change Centre.