The City of New Westminster taking part in a provincial pilot program that aims to help residents create climate-friendly homes.
The BC Home Energy Planner is a free interactive tool that helps New West residents to understand their home’s energy efficiency, carbon emissions, and potential for improvement.
“Creating a community of climate-resilient homes is a significant priority for the City of New Westminster, and tools like the BC Home Energy Planner are valuable for enabling our residents to be more actively involved in achieving our climate action goals,” Mayor Patrick Johnstone said in a news release from the city. “We’re thrilled to be one of the few communities invited to be part of the pilot program and look forward to supporting the province in launching this tool to the rest of B.C.”
New Westminster is one of four communities currently participating in the pilot, along with Smithers, the District of Saanich, and the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary. The free planner is available now until the pilot ends in April 2025.
According to the city, the BC Home Energy Planner uses a survey format to generate a custom list of recommendations for energy and carbon reducing upgrades along with information on available rebates. In addition, the planner serves as an educational resource, guiding residents through options for creating a climate-friendly home.
The city reports that future iterations of the tool will include information on climate resiliency measures, which is intended to support homeowners in adapting to the impacts of climate change.
“British Columbians have seen firsthand the impacts of climate change and are taking action to reduce their emissions,” said Josie Osborne, minister of energy, mines and low carbon innovation. “I’m so pleased that the City of New Westminster is embracing the BC Home Energy Planner, which will help people understand and improve the energy efficiency of their homes. Together with local governments, we are ensuring people have the tools they need to save on their energy bills, reduce pollution and ensure their homes are comfortable year-round.”
The news release states that the planner supports many of the actions in the city’s Community Energy and Emission Plan (CEEP 2050), as well as the carbon free homes and buildings’ goal under the city’s Seven Bold Steps for Climate Action.
New Westminster’s participation in the pilot program is being supported by the city’s newly created energy and climate action department and Energy Save New West (ESNW), a City of New Westminster initiative that supports homeowners with home upgrades and accessing rebates, and facilitates workshops on energy efficiency.
“Residents who are keen to proceed with conducting energy upgrades to their home should consider registering for ESNW’s Existing Homes program to schedule a full in-home EnerGuide evaluation prior to starting any work,” said the news release. “A Certified Energy Advisor (CEA) will do a more in-depth analysis of the home and provide specific product recommendations that are guaranteed to work with the home’s design.”
