Everyone should be able to come home to a warm and cozy home at the end of a long, cold, dark winter day. A cold and drafty old house is also terribly unhealthy! Unfortunately, many older homes have drafty doors; ancient, ineffective windows; and not nearly the right amount of insulation.

To add insult to injury, those with a lower income don’t have the means to make these fixes. These fixes, whether big or small, aren’t niceties; they’re necessities. Enbridge put together the Home Winterproofing program to help those who need help the most but can’t afford it.

The program is a triple win because not only do those who participate end up with a healthy, comfortable home, but they save money every month, which is surely a great bonus, and they do their part to reduce Ontario’s carbon footprint.

So why wait? This is a wonderful program with so many benefits, and you qualify if your income is $33,681 (before tax) or less and you live alone. The allowable income level goes up for each member of your household, but the income amount will include the income of everyone in the home over 18.

The only other qualifications are that you need to be an Enbridge gas customer (you must pay your own bill) with a natural-gas heated home built before 1980. You may also qualify if you benefit from one of Ontario’s social programs.

When you participate in this program, you will be the lucky recipient of loads of free items that will keep you cozier and save you lots of money on your dreaded winter energy bills.

The best part is you won’t have to install the energy-saving products yourself because one of Enbridge’s certified contractors will do that for you! But first they’ll go through your home to determine what fixes and products would be best for you.

Only your advisor will know what you need most, but you could very well end up with free draft proofing and free insulation!

Different organizations deliver this Enbridge program. In the Toronto, Peel, Niagara, Simcoe, and York areas, it is delivered by GreenSaver. In Ottawa, it’s delivered by EnviroCentre, and if you’re in the Durham and Peterbourough areas, it’s delivered by Windfall Centre.

Sound interesting?

Are you ready to enjoy winter rather than dread it? Apply today by filling out an application online or downloading it and mailing it in to the address on the form along with your account number, your Notice of Assessment or a benefit statement, and something that proves your monthly income.

Alternatively, you can also give one of their service centres a call to apply, but make sure you have all your information ready for them to ease the process.

Here’s the deal with this program. To begin with, it’s funded by Save On Energy but delivered by Enbridge. But the part that really matters is not just that it will save you an enormous amount of money initially and over time, it’s the easiest program out there to qualify for. As long as you haven’t participated in another home conservation program in Ontario and you promise not to in the future, you’re in!

You can benefit from this program in just 4 easy steps.

Once you’ve been through all four steps, you’ll get a cheque in the mail in about 8 to 10 weeks that includes all the rebates you went for!

All the eligible rebates included in this program are listed below. 

This rebate program has so many goodies attached to it that it would be a shame not to take advantage of it. The only catch to the whole thing is that you need to make 2 or more upgrades to get any rebate at all, but that’s not terrible because you’ll get an additional $250 rebate when you make the required 2 or more upgrades.

You could even get an additional $600 in electrical rebates if you make qualifying upgrades, such as upgrading your central air conditioner.

As mentioned earlier, you will also need to pre-apply and have a certified energy advisor conduct a home energy assessment (which will also include an electrical assessment) on your home before you get to participate and choose your upgrades, but you really wouldn’t want to make your upgrades without knowing what your home needs the most anyway, would you?

And while the assessment does come with a fee, you will get an extra $600 on your rebate cheque to cover the entire cost of your pre- and post-assessments. The pre-assessment will take about 2 hours, and the post-assessment will only take about an hour.

After your advisor has discussed what your home most needs to improve its energy efficiency, you are free to choose your own contractor and the upgrades that you want to make.

Enbridge highly encourages you to get quotes from at least 3 contractors and ensure they’re registered with the Technical Standards & Safety Authority though to make sure you get the best value for your dollar.

Once you have all your wonderful new products purchased and installed and ready to save you money and energy, your energy advisor will come back for that post-assessment.

Then they’ll make things really easy for you by giving your home an energy rating, collecting all your documents, and filling out and submitting your rebate application for you. Then you’ll see a bunch of money in 8 to 10 weeks!

Read on to learn about the whole list of heating and cooling rebates available.

Now that you’ve read through and taken advantage of as many energy rebates as you can, there’s just one small thing left. But while it may be small, it’s integral and delivers a powerful pop when it comes to saving money and energy!

That one small thing is your thermostat. Especially if you’ve had the same ancient thermostat hanging on your wall for years, making this one change can save you money every single month and still keep you warm. Upgrading to a smart thermostat gives you all the control. Keep your home warmer when you’re home and save energy when you’re not. Heat the rooms you need to, not the rooms you don’t.

Turn the heat up and down with your phone or tablet from wherever you are: upstairs, in the car, at the office, in the airport! This intelligent tool will even tell you when it’s time to change the filter.

So while you’re making your other upgrades in an effort to save money and the Earth, grab yourself a smart thermostat too and take advantage of the $100 rebate Enbridge is offering.

Choose from a number of manufacturers—Nest, Honeywell, Ecobee, Emerson, or Trane—and apply for your rebate right on the manufacturer’s website when you make your purchase. What could be easier?

Well, Enbridge makes it even easier than that. They have some handy videos ready for you to help you install your new smart thermostat.

Just jump on this one quickly because this offer disappears on December in this year. Enbridge customers will get their $100 on their bill, and those without an Enbridge account will get a cheque in the mail in about 8 to 10 weeks.

As with anything, though, there are certain qualifications: you can’t be living in a multi-family building, and you home can’t be heated electrically. Otherwise, as long as you have a WiFi connection, you’ll qualify for the rebate.