Eco-Living

MHC offers a 10% premium refund on its mortgage loan insurance premiums, as well as extended amortization to a maximum of 35 years (subject to lender availability), to individuals who use CMHC-insured financing to purchase an energy efficient home, purchase a home and make energy-saving renovations, or renovate their existing home to make it more energy efficient. The refund is a one-time payment.

Jurisdiction:Federal
Action area:Home purchase/construction
Status:Available
Dollar value:10% of the cost of CMHC mortgage insurance (e.g., approximately $275 for a $100,000 mortgage with a 5% down payment, or approximately $85 for a $20,000 mortgage for renovation)

For home buyers, the refund and extended amortization are available

• when a house meets the requirements of one of the following programs: R-2000 (national), Built Green Gold label, Power Smart New Home Program (Manitoba), ENERGY STARï½® for New Homes (Ontario) or Novoclimat (Quebec);
• when a house has an EnerGuide for Houses rating of 77 or above; • when a house with an EnerGuide for Houses rating of less than 77 is renovated to increase the rating by at least five points and to a value of at least 40; or
• when, for a condominium unit, the building meets the requirements of the federal Commercial Building Incentive Program (in which case a letter attesting to this must be obtained from Natural Resources Canada or the project engineer).

The refund is also available for CMHC-insured refinance mortgages for the purpose of making energy-saving renovations to houses with an EnerGuide for Houses rating of less than 77. The renovations must increase the house’s rating by at least five points and to a value of at least 40. Extended amortization is available through participating lenders for all new CMHC mortgage insurance applications approved as of January 2005.

How to obtain this incentive: First, obtain:

• the necessary certification or CMHC declaration from a builder who is R-2000 certified or a member of one of the provincial programs mentioned above;
• EnerGuide for Houses ratings; or
• a letter attesting compliance with the Commercial Building Incentive Program; and • the new or refinanced CMHC-insured mortgage. Then complete the refund application form available on the Web site and send it to the address or fax number provided.

o qualify for the exemption, the equipment must be purchased or leased (where the lease period began on or after February 16, 2005) for installation in a residential dwelling.

The exemption applies to all parts of the equipment, including piping and refrigerant solutions integral to heat pump systems, but excluding duct work used to circulate air in a house, generic thermostats or supplementary heating systems not integral to a heat pump system.

Jurisdiction:British Columbia
Action area:Home heating/cooling system purchase/replacement
Status:Available
Dollar value:7% of the purchase price of furnaces, boilers and heat pumps Furnaces, boilers and heat pumps are exempt from the provincial sales tax (Social Service Tax) if they are ENERGY STARï½® qualified or, in the case of oil-fired forced air furnaces, if they have a Seasonal Energy Utilization Efficiency (SEUE) rating of at least 85%.

For more information: Web site
Phone: 604-660-4524, or 877-388-4440 outside Vancouver.
Web site listing the models of furnaces, boilers and heat pumps that qualify for the exemption.
Web site explaining ENERGY STAR guideline

How to obtain this incentive: Automatically received at the time of purchase.

ortis customers can choose between a reduced-interest loan and a cash grant when they install a ground or air source heat pump. For a qualifying project, a loan is available up to $5,000 at 4.9% interest and with a 10-year term. Alternatively, participants can receive a one-time grant of $0.05 for each kilowatt-hour in reduced annual electricity consumption.

Jurisdiction: British Columbia
Action area: Home heating/cooling system purchase/replacement
Status: Available
Dollar value: Per home: reduced-interest loan up to $5,000 or $0.05 per kWh of reduced annual consumption (typically $200–400)  

This incentive is available for ground source (geothermal) heat pumps meeting criteria including Canadian Standards Association standards and installed by a Fortis-approved contractor in homes where electricity is the primary source of space heating. Air source heat pumps must have a Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) of 13 or greater.

This program is not available to Fortis customers in Alberta.

For more information: Web site.
Phone: 800-363-3330.

How to obtain this incentive: Call the PowerSense hotline at 800-363-3330.

he following renewable energy generating materials and equipment are exempt from provincial sales tax (Social Service Tax):

*wind-powered generating equipment;
*solar photovoltaic collector panels;
*solar thermal collector panels; and
*micro-hydro turbines and generators rated up to 150 kilowatts.

In most cases, associated and necessary components of these systems, such as wiring, controllers, inverters, pumps, tubing and intake pipes (but not batteries) are also tax-exempt when purchased as part of the systems.

NERGY STAR labelled windows are exempt from Provincial Sales Tax (PST) in British Columbia.