A one-stop energy shop
If you are one of the thousands of homeowners in Waterloo Region who have received an energy audit, you’ve taken an important first step towards making your home more energy efficient and environmentally friendly. Now imagine if along with that energy audit you could also get help retrofitting your home. The concept of a one-stop energy shop is exactly what Reep Green Solutions (Reep) is investigating with the help of the Investment Readiness Program (IRP), funded by the Government of Canada.
Since 1999, Reep has been offering home energy audits, which provide homeowners with solutions about how to make their homes more energy efficient. In 2020, the environmental charity decided to investigate whether there is a market for a Retrofit Manager — a trusted, impartial person who could help homeowners take that audit info and move forward with the upgrades.
“We have a challenge here in Waterloo Region, and it’s actually a challenge worldwide - to cut emissions,” says Heather McDiarmid, a researcher with Reep. “Generally the way you would cut emissions is through retrofitting a home. But there can be a lot of barriers, such as concerns about costs and workmanship. This is where a Retrofit Manager would come in.”
Reep applied for IRP funding, through Waterloo Region Community Foundation (WRCF) to investigate their options. The funding they received is being used to fund market research and analysis, to develop a business model and legal risk mitigation strategies, and to identify investment requirements.
“The big thing we have to sort out is whether there is a market,” says McDiarmid. “Is there a service we can offer that people would be willing to pay enough for to cover our costs?”
Reep had already conducted secondary market research that looked at what sort of programs have been successful across North America. McDiarmid says so far they have discovered that there is a wide variety of options, from programs that offer a 1-800 number to call for advice, to having the Retrofit Manager act like a contractor who oversees the upgrades.
In terms of next steps, Reep is reviewing the results of a survey done as primary research to determine whether homeowners would be willing to pay for the service. The hope is that the results will show having a Retrofit Manager is a sustainable marketable solution. And that, McDiarmid says, can benefit the community at a larger level.
“When people retrofit their homes, it has an impact on the local economy because that creates local jobs for tradespeople. And of course there is comfort benefits and energy savings for the homeowner as well, which — especially in affordable housing — can increase incomes.”
”And, anything that helps an organization be more self-sufficient is fantastic. These type of changes often involve thinking about new and exciting opportunities,” says McDiarmid, “and the IRP funding is helping Reep as we continue to evolve.”
To learn more about Reep and its energy audits program, please visit reepgreen.ca/energyaudit.
Note: This story was written prior to Cambridge & North Dumfries Community Foundation and Kitchener Waterloo Community Foundation unifying to become Waterloo Region Community Foundation. Although the story was created by KWCF, we have updated the organization name to WRCF throughout the story.
