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An Energy Efficient Mortgage can help you make your home more energy efficient today

In an attempt to make homes more energy efficient, CMHC (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation) has added an energy efficient mortgage when purchasing or renovating your house to make it more energy efficient. If you use CMHC insured financing to purchase an energy efficient home or renovate your existing home to make it more energy-efficient, a 10% refund on the Mortgage loan insurance premium may be available. There is also the flexibility of extending the amortization, up to 35 years, without a premium surcharge.

In order to qualify for renovating your existing home to make it more energy efficient, there are a few steps that you need to go through.

First you need to contact an NRCan qualified energy advisor so that they can let you know of your current energy rating for your home. The energy advisor will also give you a list of recommendations to increase the energy rating in your home.

So what exactly is a NRCan Qualified Energy Advisor looking for?

• The home is efficient and free of leaks. Specifically, this is called a building energy envelope, which is the area surrounding the home that effects energy usage. To determine this, a complete inspection is required, and sometimes they will even take infrared photos to see invisible energy leaks. The actual frame and construction of the home, the ducts inside the home, windows, doors, insulation, building materials, roof, basement, are all examples of what would be inspected.
• HVAC operation is efficient. The heating and cooling systems should be properly sized and installed correctly to efficiently heat and cool the living space.
• The exterior of the home. This includes the direction the home is facing, tree placement and landscaping.

Once you have received your current energy rating, the next step is speaking with your financial lender about a CMHC insured refinance.

The next step would be to hire a contractor to fix all of the issues in the house that were recommended in the report. It is important to hire a contractor that is experienced in working with energy efficient products, as they will have the most knowledge about energy efficient renovations. A contractor that doesn't have any experience working in energy efficiency renovations, may just cost more money if the renovations aren't done correctly.

After the recommended energy efficient renovations are completed, the energy advisor will re-assess your home. If the test results show that the energy rating has improved by at least 5 points, and achieved an overall rating of at least 40, the 10% premium refund may be available. The final step is to apply for the refund through CMHC.

There are many benefits in improving the energy efficiency of your home. You will enjoy more comfort, long-term savings on energy bills and the confidence knowing that you are doing your part to make the world a greener place.

To learn more about the process of getting an energy efficient mortgage, go to http://www.cmhc.ca/en/co/moloin/moloin_008.cfm