Hamilton offering zero interest loans for residential home energy retrofits
Published December 11, 2023 at 5:12 pm
Hamilton is giving homeowners a chance to implement energy efficiency retrofits with zero interest loans of up to $20,000, to be repaid through property taxes.
The Better Homes Hamilton Pilot Program will provide up to a million dollars in loans to residents wanting to upgrade their properties with heat pumps, draft proofing, insulation or other energy improvements, to help make homes “future ready.”
The pilot stage of the program is targeting about 50 homes with each property able to receive a maximum of $20,000.
The goal of the new program is to support the greatest number of homeowners across Hamilton in undertaking upgrades which improve home energy efficiency and substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while improving home comfort.
A ‘Program Coach’ service will help guide participants through the program, including help with maximizing rebates and/or grants from existing energy efficiency and income qualifying programs.
Homeowners must have their property taxes and any other financial obligations to the City in good standing and not have already purchased and/or installed the energy efficient measures for which the loan is being sought.
The 12-step plan begins with an application and includes an optional session with a program coach before submitting a funding request, hiring a contractor and paying for the services rendered. The City of Hamilton will then award you the loan, which will be paid back through your taxes.
The City of Hamilton is on a mission, according to a statement on the program, to achieve net zero GHG emissions by 2050 and prepare for the unavoidable impacts of climate change. “If we do not take significant action, by 2050 the residential and commercial buildings are projected to represent the second largest source of emissions in Hamilton, primarily from the use of natural gas for space and water heating and (especially) in older, more inefficient homes.”
As a fuel-switching (gas/oil/propane to electric) residential building retrofit program, Better Homes Hamilton is considered a key action in Hamilton’s mission to achieve net zero.
