Guelph to hand out interest-free loans and grants for green home projects

Homeowners in Guelph are being encouraged to make their homes more energy efficient, and the City of Guelph wants to lend a hand.

Starting July 31, the city will be accepting applications for the Guelph Greener Homes program in which eligible homeowners can receive interest-free loans of up to $50,000.

The funds can be used to cover the cost of retrofits, whether that be installing solar panels,  upgrading things like windows and doors, or installing mechanical systems like heat pumps.

“One of the big things is getting homes to change to heat pumps, and be less reliant on natural gas as a heat source,” said Bryan Ho-Yan, the city’s manager of corporate energy and climate change. “A vast majority of the homes in Guelph are on these systems.”

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There is also a grant available for low-income residents to purchase air-source heat pumps for their homes.

Eligible homes in Guelph (whether they are detached, semi-detached, townhouse, or rowhouse) must be at least five years old, have a property tax account with the city, owe no back taxes or have no liens or title disputes on the property, have not started the work for which the loan will be used for, and have consent from all listed property owners in order to qualify.

A majority of the funding for the Greener Homes program is coming from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.

“They’re providing $10 million worth of loans for the program, and another $5 million for the grants program,” Ho-Yan said. “The City of Guelph is pitching in a contribution of $3.75 million.”

The program is expected to run for about four years, But Ho-Yan said it could be extended if there is demand for it.

“We want to make sure that people have a chance to get at this. Some are more ready than others, so we’ll monitor how the uptake is and manage the program.”

For more information on the Guelph Greener Home program, go to the City of Guelph’s website.