Residential Energy Retrofit Navigator and Accelerator

Energy Neighbour surmounts the challenge of GHG reduction in the single-family residential sector by providing no-cost guidance to homeowners to help them understand their technology options, navigate government financing programs, and work with carefully vetted contractors. One-on-one guidance has been provided to over 250 homeowners resulting in heat pump, water heater, solar panel and/or envelope upgrades in nearly 100 homes with average emissions reductions of 70%. A full 48% of those homes transitioned completely off gas. Advocacy and education in forums from webinars and podcasts to neighbourhood groups and heat pump parties advance retrofit awareness, invite engagement and accelerate adoption. Single family residential is the most challenging building sector to decarbonize. Many residents are interested, or at least heat pump curious, but they get overwhelmed and confused or experience analysis paralysis when reviewing their HVAC options. Perhaps most significantly, 85% of homeowners replace their HVAC only when it fails. There isn’t a lot of time to research clean energy options and take advantage of green tech loans and rebates when there’s frost forming on the kitchen table.

The Residential Energy Retrofit Navigator and Accelerator was designed to provide the guidance and support for homeowners to switch from gas to clean energy—calmly, wisely, confidently and in good time.
Homeowners, it was clear, needed to first feel more confident in the technology and the process. What was needed was one-on-one guidance through what are, after all, major purchases.
An initial pilot resulted in 21 homeowners successfully installing solar panels on their homes and some installing heat pumps as well.

The pilot participants were interviewed to determine what had been most effective for them and what additional support would offer value. The Energy Neighbour name and brand was developed and website designed and launched.

The Energy Neighbour team observed that hearing about the experience of neighbours who have already installed heat pumps and solar created confidence for others to proceed with retrofits. Heat pumps make for good neighbourhood gossip and in 2023 Michelle Hjort was hired as manager to take these lessons learned from the pilot project and scale them up.

Hjort pursued advocacy and education opportunities as well as collaboration and engagement with other climate organizations. Heat pump contractors were vetted, then additional solar and building envelope contractors. Written material was developed to assist with understanding the technology, handling the installation steps and navigating audits, loans and rebates. Hjort advanced her own knowledge with courses, webinars and research and engagement in the Green Building community.

Advocacy, presentations and referrals created a pipeline of interested homeowners. A homeowner guidance system was developed involving a video consultation, loan and rebate guidance, contractor referral and home visit, and ongoing support.

To date, one-on-one guidance aided by the Residential Energy Retrofit Navigator and Accelerator has been provided to over 250 homeowners, resulting in not just heat pump, but electric water heaters, solar panel installations and/or envelope upgrades in nearly 100 homes.

These energy retrofits resulted in an average emissions reduction of ~70% with 48% of homes transitioning fully off gas. Advocacy and education is ongoing via webinars, podcasts, presentations at neighbourhood green group events, presentations at MP and city councillor events, heat pump parties and tabling at community events and with climate advocacy groups.

When a new gas furnace is installed, that decision locks in gas heating in that home for another fifteen to twenty years. This understanding creates a sense of urgency. Every new HVAC has a long-term impact. With that always in mind, Hjort seeks out and creates presentation opportunities advancing homeowner knowledge and confidence with each presentation she makes.

Raise the subject of heat pumps in Toronto and someone will almost always chime in that “Toronto is too cold for heat pumps” which it’s absolutely not. Many HVAC contractors still discourage heat pumps, saying they don’t work, and encourage furnace installations, or they’ll only install an (undersized) heat pump with an unnecessary and oversized furnace backup that will do most of the heating. Correcting this misinformation is one of the issues that motivates The Energy Neighbour project. A significant value for Energy Neighbour clients is to access vetted qualified expert heat pump installers.

Navigating the rebates with ever-changing timelines and rules (e.g. solar rebate that doesn’t allow for net metering) is its own challenge. What funds can be accessed? When in the process will they be received? These are reasonable questions not easily answered by a quick, or even extensive, online search. Energy Neighbour helped almost every homeowner they worked with to access both loans and rebates.

Perhaps the biggest barrier to clean energy adoption is homeowner inertia. Many are keen to do clean energy retrofits, but don’t know where to start. The difficulty and expense of retrofitting old houses can feel overwhelming. Rebates, energy savings and a more comfortable home make these wise choices and not just for the planet. Yet doing the math on these choices can involve a fairly complex equation. Homeowners may fall back on the reflexive impulse to stick with the familiar.

A trustworthy, knowledgeable, experienced hand able to provide one-on-one guidance through all the retrofit steps is invaluable. All these issues can be overcome by a one stop shop like The Energy Neighbour project and their Residential Energy Retrofit Navigator and Accelerator—now just waiting to be imitated.
Having found what works to get homeowners over these hurdles, Energy Neighbour is happy to serve as a model for other green-eyed emerging outfits, inspiring others to tackle the residential home front. While each retrofit the team shepherds through takes a lot of time and energy, the happy homeowners enjoying the final results of their greener homes make the effort very satisfying. Clients are overwhelmingly thrilled to have moved their homes off gas and happy to talk about the process and results.

Watching people say goodbye to gas bills and hello to their neighbours is its own reward. Bringing down our single-family residential GHG admissions may not be a matter of keeping up with the Joneses, but activating those same networks is key.

Energy Neighbour is working hard for the day when their services are not needed. The goal is to make switching to a heat pump and electric water heater and getting your home off gas is as easy and normal as picking up a rotary phone used to be.