It really is time to action on this now!
Given the current government stance on deficit reduction, this program is highly likely to disappear unless consumers make their voices heard.
Please contact your Member of Parliament to register your approval for the continuation of this progeam.
While the program has been reinstated, it is offering only a short window of opportunity to take advantage of applying for the grants.For more information see the news at ecoAction. Consumers should also note that they will have to register with ecoEnergy before getting their initial inspection or applying to reopen their previous file.
Tags: certified installers, ecoEnergy, ecoEnergy audits, Energy Star Windows, high performance windows, home inspection companies, SAWDAC
It’s official, the ecoEnergy program has kicked in again. If you are a homeowner and want to save on energy efficient upgrades be sure to have an energy inspection done and then complete your upgrades.
Tags: certified installers, ecoEnergy, ecoEnergy audits, energy efficiency, energy inspections, energy reduction, Energy Star, Energy Star Windows, high performance windows, SAWDAC, vinyl windows
Mississauga continues to demonstrate its ecoEnergy commitment. During this year’s Earth Hour, we achieved a further reduction in power consumption. In 2010 there was a drop of 6.9 percent and in 2011 that increased to 8 percent. According to George Carlson, who is a Mississauga city councilor and chairs the Environmental Advisory Committee, this is further proof that we are “Living Green”. In contrast, Toronto’s energy use only dropped to 5 percent, just half of its 2010 reduction of 10 percent.
It is worthwhile to make note of this not just because of the Earth Hour event, but also because there will be debates during the federal election campaign about the Government of Canada’s commitment to the ecoEnergy program. When the current funding dried up, the government allowed the program to lapse. This was addressed during the new budget when funding was restored. Unlike an electrical switch, this cannot continue as an on and off again program.
The Toronto Star published a story on Friday march 25, 2011 that questions the benefit produced by this program. While they wonder about the actual dollar impact and who is really benefitting from the high efficiency renovations, the article appears to be unbalanced. They reference the C.D. Howe Institute’s Benjamin Davis who is opposed to the program, yet the same institute called the program the “the biggest impact, by far, is the energy retrofit of homes” when it comes to Green energy savings.
I can assure you that I have never had a customer complain that their renovated home was less energy efficient or that they were not satisfied with the high efficiency of their replacement windows and doors. Let the debate begin,here!
Tags: Earth Hour, ecoEnergy, energy efficiency, green renovations, high performance windows, Mississauga, window replacement
I saw this article in the paper on the weekend and I wanted to put this link out there for anyone to follow.
You can go to this website and send an email to the Canadian government and to the leaders of the political parties. http://saveecoenergy.blogspot.com/
First to reply was the Green Party. So they get place of prominence.
Climate change is one of the most serious problems facing the planet. Adapting our homes and living spaces to be more energy efficient is one easy method to fight climate change.
Governments around the world have introduced programmes as a way to help home and business owners become more energy efficient. Canada’s EcoENERGY Retrofit programme was an example of a well-functioning federal programme that balanced revenue and cost effectiveness with real progress.
The decision to scrap the retrofit programme occurred simultaneously with cuts to government funding for environmental and climate change research. Evidently, this is not a government that cares about the economic and social implications of a changing global climate. Programmes like the EcoENERGY Retrofit are good for the Canadian economy, as not only do they help to reduce our energy wastefulness, but they also create jobs and promote economic investment in an emerging energy sector.
The Green Party of Canada is dedicated to making real progress in confronting Canada’s triple deficit– economic, environmental, and democratic, and programmes like the EcoENERGY Retrofit are an integral means of transitioning to a Green economy.
If you would like Elizabeth May to facilitate a climate campaign training in your community, please email mcleod@greenparty.ca. If you are interested in similar policy positions, please visit our websites elizabethmay.ca and greenparty.ca to sign up for our email newsletters.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth May, O.C.
Leader
Green Party of Canada
greenparty.ca
1-866-868-3447
Tags: ecoEnergy audits, energy efficiency, Energy Star, HRTC, Mississauga
This is meant to be a timely reminder for anyone that has not booked their ecoEnergy exit audit.
While the Federal government is no longer offering funds for Energy Star upgrades, the Ontario Government will honor existing clients up until March 31, 2011.
However, it is important to contact the service provider that did your initial inspection and make sure that you have a booking for the final inspection.
This must be done before March 31, 2011.
Tags: ecoEnergy, ecoEnergy audits, energy inspections, Energy Star, home inspection companies, window replacement
Boy they had it so GOOD for so long didn’t they! They collected your advertising dollars in advance and you waited breathlessly, for months, to get the new Yellow Pages directory to see how your ad displayed and what your competitors had done. Then along came the Gold Pages and then the Internet. Now they would like you to advertise on the yellowpages.com!
The question to be asked here is just how do you effectively communicate on the internet? You need a solid website presence and then you can also consider online advertising to bring out initial exposure. For our clients the website presence comes from a WordPress website that allows you to control and refresh content.
To put this in terms that their previous customers might find useful is to view internet exposure as being similar to billboard advertising and Yellow Pages ads.
Google AdWords campaigns, and other online ads, are based on the “auctioning” of ad positions based on bids that allow any business to place an ad on the first page of results for the keywords that they purchase. In a chosen keyword category you can pay more for your ad placement, but your competitors can also increase the price that they are willing to pay. While this strategy can be leveraged to move up to the first page, in the long run you will continue to drive the cost of that placement higher and higher. Because the auction process is ongoing, there is also no guarantee that your placement won’t be bought out at any time.
If Yellow Page
ads are compared to Google Adwords, we can see that the placement of the ad is not static but can be very dynamic in terms of content. However, if you are not willing to spend the amount of money required to be at the top of the category, then you need to concentrate on the content. However, content is limited to 2 lines of 26 characters, and these can be copied by any competitor at any time. In the Yellow Pages model a business calling itself AA Window Cleaners always got the first position for one year, until the next year when a business named AAA Window Cleaners got that slot.
Your WordPress website installation can be compared to billboard campaign. If you purchased a billboard site, then you could continue to occupy that location as long as you wanted. Your website however has very low fixed costs in comparison to billboards and the content can be refreshed on a timely basis. In addition, that content can be delivered 24 hours a day across many different Social Media platforms and delivered directly to mobile devices. A billboard only delivers content to the people driving by.
To put it in context, this is the way of the future and the old way of doing things is falling by the wayside.
See the article in the National Post that quotes Eric Lefkofsky http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/18/business/18sbiz.html?_r=1&src=dayp
It comes as no surprise that the Ontario Government has suspended the home energy rebates. They claim that they need to evaluate the process by which they will continue to support the program which has been halted at the Federal level. Home inspection companies are no longer booking energy audits. If you still have not had an exit inspection you may still be in line for ecoEnergy grants, but pay close attention to the Federal program disclaimers, if the program still has funds available and the work and the final inspection are completed prior to March 31, 2011. This is a direct call to action for consumers. The HST comes into effect on July 1, 2010 and the cost of doing business will be affected. Oil is still going up in price, so the longer you put off upgrading your home with high efficiency windows and doors, the more you are going to pay for these items. The good news is that there are paybacks with lowered energy costs and increased value in your home.
Tags: ecoEnergy, ecoEnergy audits, energy efficiency, energy inspections, energy reduction, home inspection companies, homeowner grants, Mississauga replacement doors, Mississauga replacement windows, new air conditioner, new furnace, new windows
Ouch! I just posted a week ago that it was possible to re-open your grant program and this week the entire program at the Federal level has come to an end. It remains to be seen what the Ontario government’s response will be! Did Earth Hour just go out like a candle in the wind? The Globe and Mail provides some detail and early feedback. There is more info at Natural Resources Canada.
Tags: ecoEnergy, ecoEnergy audits, energy efficiency, Energy Star, Energy Star Windows
Moen Canada can certainly show you how. First, let me give credit to the authors of a book published in 1993 and written by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles, because that is where I took the title for this blog. A great read still, for anyone who wants to really grasp customer service. And truth be told it works!
I spent the weekend with a dripping kitchen tap that I just couldn’t get to. I started my day at the service counter at Moen thinking that I needed to replace some parts. As my tap is about 5-6 years old I had some difficulty finding the right model number for the needed parts. Note to all: bring along a digital image and that will speed things along very nicely. When I got the faucet apart at home, it was apparent that the real problem was that the base had rusted away. I took some shots with the camera and returned to Moen. As soon as I showed them the pictures and described the problem it was resolved with a new faucet. One hour later, all was well again, except for the dishes that still needed to be done.
Here the thing. Moen states that you are buying the product for its looks and you are going to be supported for life. And it’s true! That is how they gained a Raving Fan today. A short disclaimer is necessary in that I have no professional relationship with Moen. I use the products that customers want to have installed in their homes with no bias to one supplier over another. But this level of commitment to a company mission statement is deserving of praise.
Consumers could be missing out on ecoEnergy rebates. With all the attention in 2009 on the HRTC program and the increase in rebate amounts for Energy Star qualified windows and doors, a very important announcement was overlooked. Visit this link and read the section marked How it Works http://tinyurl.com/yhxb4l5
While stating there would not be any adjustment to the amount paid to anyone who had their post retrofit inspection, the program will allow anyone who has had an final inspection to reopen their file and claim the grant money for upgrades that had not already been done. In other words, if you had made a claim based on a furnace or air conditioner replacement and had not replace qualified windows and doors, you can now replace them and receive the rebates.
What is also very important is do this as soon as possible because the ecoEnergy program is in its final year. A careful reading of the program identifies that grants will be paid to homeowners with Energy Star upgrades made prior to March 31 2011. Access to the program continues to be on a first-come, first-served basis, and grants are subject to the availability of funds. Also of note is the requirement that the final inspection must be done prior to the cutoff date.
The ecoENERGY Retrofit grant is based on the type and number of energy improvements that have been made, and how much the efficiency of the home has been improved. The grant is based on how effective that upgrade is in saving energy, not on the cost of the upgrade.
The maximum grant one can receive per home is $5,000. The average grant is more than $1,200 and will yield an average 23 percent reduction in energy use and costs.
Tags: ecoEnergy, ecoEnergy audits, energy efficiency, Energy Star, Energy Star Windows, furnace replacement, home inspection companies, HRTC, new air conditioner, new furnace, window replacement
