What an EnerGuide home evaluation is, and when you need one

An EnerGuide evaluation is the energy audit most Canadian retrofit programs mean when they say assessment. It is also the step people skip, then discover their rebate needed it before the insulation went in.

This is planning information, not program or tax advice. Program rules change, so confirm the current terms with the program itself before you book work.

What you get

Natural Resources Canada describes the EnerGuide rating as an estimate of the net energy your house uses in a year, in gigajoules. Lower is better, and zero means the house produces as much energy as it uses. Your rating is shown against a reference house: a version of your own home as if it were built to typical new construction standards. For scale, NRCan says the average Canadian household uses about 100 gigajoules a year.

• An EnerGuide rating and label
• A Homeowner Information Sheet
• A Renovation Upgrade Report listing recommended upgrades and their estimated effect

Who does it, and how long it takes

You book with a service organization registered with NRCan, and it sends a registered energy advisor. The advisor checks the house from basement to attic and runs a blower door test to measure airtightness. They record insulation levels, every window and door, and the heating, cooling, hot water, and ventilation equipment. Fuel-fired heating and water heating get turned down during the test, so plan the visit for a day you can do without them for a while.

The rating is calculated under standard conditions, so it will not match your utility bills. That is by design. It compares houses, not households.

What it costs

NRCan says a pre-retrofit and post-retrofit evaluation together cost, on average, between $600 and $1,000 in total, depending on the provider and the province, and that you usually pay after the service. Treat that as NRCan's average, not a quote.

Which programs need one

Ontario's Home Renovation Savings program has two paths. Its assessment path starts with an evaluation: you pay for the initial and follow-up assessments upfront, and the program pays $600 back once you install at least two upgrades the initial assessment recommended. Its single-upgrade path, including heat pumps, skips the assessment. Program terms and end dates change, so check the current dates on the program site before you book.

The federal National Heat Pump Rebate is the opposite case. Environment and Climate Change Canada says it will need no energy audit before or after installation. Other provincial and utility programs set their own rules, which is why the rebates page lists them by province.

The sequencing trap

Where a program uses an evaluation, the first one has to happen before the work. The upgrades it recommends are the ones that count, and an upgrade that is already installed cannot be recommended.

Timing inside a renovation matters too. NRCan says the building envelope has to be intact for the evaluation, with windows and doors in place (NRCan allows one missing opening if it is temporarily sealed) and only interior partitions affected by any work under way. A house with an exterior wall open or windows out cannot be tested. Book the pre-retrofit visit before demolition starts, and the post-retrofit visit after the envelope is closed.

How to book one

1. Open NRCan's list of service organizations for existing homes and find one that serves your postal code.
2. Contact them yourself. NRCan says service organizations do not sell door-to-door or through unsolicited calls, so a knock on the door is not a booking.
3. Ask for the price of both visits and when each is billed.
4. Have your property tax roll number ready; the advisor uses it to confirm ownership.
5. Keep the Renovation Upgrade Report. Your contractor quotes should match what it recommends if you want the rebate.

If anyone offers to book your evaluation for you at the door, or bundles it into a heat pump contract, say no. Book it yourself, before the first contractor starts.