H.E.L.P. City of Toronto

I love this house.  It's about 30 years old with lots of original everything.  We would love to have some energy efficient upgrades done, but it is so expensive.   One of my concerns is our original air conditioner.  It's working but I'm not sure for how long.  I hate that summer feeling of fear when the hydro reading comes in.

I came across some info on H.E.L.P.  The Home Energy Loan Program.  The three year pilot plan is a financing tool offered by the City of Toronto to help you improve your home's energy efficiency and save money.

" available in specific neighbourhoods in Toronto. The program will be expanded to additional areas in later phases of the pilot program. Current eligible areas include the following neighbourhoods:
- Black Creek: postal code that starts with M3N
- Toronto Centre/Riverdale/Beaches: M4E, M4L, M4M, M4J, M1N, M4C, M4K, M5A
- Junction/High Park: M6P, M6S
- South Scarborough: M1M, M1E, M1C, M1L, M1K, M4B"

It offers low interest loans to qualifying homeowners interested in improving their water and energy efficiency of the home.  The homeowner repays the city through installments on their property tax bill.

The potential savings may offset the cost of your monthly repayments to the city and you will be better protected against rising energy costs.  You have up to 15 years to pay it off.  By the way...  The loan is in the property name not the owner.  #nocreditcheck!  If you move during the repayment process the new owners oversee the payments.

We applied and have been approved for a dollar amount. This week we will phone a certified energy advisor who will do an assessment of our home's insulation, heating and cooling systems and detection of air leaks and drafts.
The wonderful thing about this is we could also be eligible for rebates that could be used towards our repayment plan.

I will keep you up to date on the steps, but thought you should really know about this.  I'm all about saving money, energy and living green. More information can be found at Programs for Residents Home Energy Loan Program.