Federal program encourages homeowners to go green by phasing out oil heating, and promoting low carbon materials

Retro-fitting your home to make it more energy efficient will save you in the long run - that’s according to green homes expert Derek Satnik.

“So if you’re talking about the best opportunities, honestly it probably is in fixing up what we already have,” he explained. “A lot of developers will buy a couple of tired properties, tear them down, and build something special. If you’re renovating, renovate to a higher standard. You’re the one who’s going to get the health benefit from it.”

Satnik is the Vice President of Technology for s2e Technologies, the technology and research partner for Sifton Properties.

On Wednesday he provided a tour of Sifton’s West 5 community, the province’s first net zero mixed-use neighbourhood, to London West MP Arielle Kayabaga, along with Kamal Khera, Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities. The Liberal members were promoting the federal government’s new Green Buildings Strategy - it’s an $800 million incentive program to help homeowners go green.

“It really is to help low and middle income Canadians to retrofit and upgrade their homes, whether it is through solar panels, whether it is through getting better insulation,” said Khera. “It really is about making their homes more energy efficient to actually save them a lot more money.”

Kayabaga added that much can be learned from the net-zero practices used in the West 5 neighbourhood. “This can be done across different communities across Canada. The benefit that comes from building this community out in different parts of the country. And there’s the expertise already here, the research has been done, it’s working,” she said.

When it comes to new-builds, going green comes with a price premium that Satnik says is about five per cent, but it’s an investment the homeowner can expect to get back.

“If you take a house and tack ideas onto it you’re going to pay more,” he said. “I have the privilege of being able to start clean every time because I only do new buildings. So for new buildings you can just build it better, and when you build it better you’re going to save the money that you spend, just over time.”

The government’s Green Buildings Strategy includes a plan to phase out oil heating in new construction, and promote use of low carbon materials.