Energy rebates for Ottawa homes: how the process really works

Efficiency rebates are real money, but the process trips people up because the order of operations matters. Here is the shape of it.

1. Pre-retrofit evaluation first

Before you touch anything, a registered Energy Advisor evaluates the home: a room-by-room assessment, a blower-door test, and an inventory of insulation, windows and mechanical systems. This produces your baseline EnerGuide rating and, crucially, the list of measures that are eligible for a rebate on your house.

If you do the work first and get the evaluation after, most programs will not pay for it.

2. Do the work

With the eligible measures identified, you or your contractors carry out the upgrades: insulation, air-sealing, windows, a heat pump, and so on. Keep every invoice and product spec sheet.

3. Post-retrofit evaluation

The Energy Advisor comes back, re-tests, and updates the model to reflect what was actually done. This produces the new rating and the final documentation the program needs.

4. The claim

The evaluation reports and your receipts go into the application. Rebate amounts depend on the measures and the program in effect at the time.

Where people get tripped up

• Doing work before the first evaluation. It has to come first.
• Missing paperwork. No spec sheet or invoice, no rebate for that item.
• Program timing. Programs open, close and change. Confirm what is active before you plan the budget.
• DIY that cannot be verified. The advisor has to be able to confirm what was installed.

How Komado fits in

We handle both evaluations, model each measure so you can see the payback before committing, and prepare the documentation. See EnerGuide evaluations and rebates and incentives.