Funding & Grants for Upgrades

How can I afford to upgrade my house?

Older houses usually benefit from an energy efficiency upgrade. This can include adding insulation in the walls, crawl space, basement and attic, installing better windows, doors and furnace, and simple inexpensive things such as sealing cracks around windows, doors and vents, and insulating pipes and hot water tank.

Some of these retrofits can be expensive initially but pay off over time with savings in heating costs and improved property value. As well, both the federal and provincial governments offer rebates that can help defray the cost of improvements.

Dawson Creek is a pilot community in the provincial Energy Savings Plan . Grants are available for homeowners through this program. The federal government also provides rebates for eligible improvements and retrofits.

The city is also a pilot community for the British Columbia Solar BC initiative. Through this program, incentives are available to install solar hot water heaters.

For rebate and incentive programs for everything from vehicles to buildings, visit Natural Resources Canada's website.

Lakeview Credit Union in Dawson Creek offers low cost loans for energy retrofits.

What about my car?

There are also grants and rebates available to encourage car owners to take vehicles older than 1993 off the road and to choose the most efficient, low emission vehicle to buy. See Transportation for more information.

For community organizations with eco-ideas
Environment Canada's EcoAction Program provides financial support to community groups for projects that have measurable positive impacts on the environment.