Homeowners in Guelph will be able to make their homes more green while saving some green.
City council finalized the Greener Home Program on Tuesday.
The program aims to provide residents with interest-free loans between $5,000 and $50,000 for upgrades that will allow them to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help the city of Guelph achieve a net-zero carbon target.
“Things like solar panels, upgrades to windows, doors, insulation, to try to make their homes that much better for the environment,” said Mayor Cam Guthrie.
A majority of the funding for the program is being provided by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM). It will contribute $10 million, while the city is putting in another $3.75 million.
“The local tax base isn’t having to fund the entire thing,” said Guthrie. “That made it pretty much a no-brainer for us to implement the program.”
Residents will be able to repay the loan through their property tax bill over a 10-year period.
“I’ve already had a couple of residents asking, ‘How do I apply for this grant?'” said Coun. Rodrigo Goller.
Coun. Linda Busittil believes this program will benefit low-income households but worries they may be left out.
“My conversations were that this program was out of their capacity,” Busittil said. “I hope staff will give equity of opportunity, equity of access.”
There have been similar programs in municipalities across Canada and the U.S. Guthrie says seeing how others rolled out the program allowed the City of Guelph to iron out any issues.
“It allowed us to be able to look at what worked and what didn’t work in communities that did it before us,” Guthrie said.
The Greener Homes Program is expected to be rolled out sometime in the spring.
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