Rénoclimat

If you have exceeded the 18-month deadline and did not request an extension before the end of this deadline, you are, unfortunately, no longer eligible to receive financial assistance under the Rénoclimat program.
 
The 18-month deadline is explained by the energy efficiency advisor upon visiting your home and is also clearly indicated in the owner’s report and posted on our Web site.
 
For the sake of coherence and fairness to all participants, we shall not re-evaluate any project, regardless of the reason provided for having exceeded the deadline.

It is normal for participants who receive financial assistance from both the ecoENERGY Retrofit - Homes program and the Rénoclimat program to receive the cheques one after the other.   
 
A six to eight week period separates the receipt of the financial assistance cheque from the federal government and that of the Rénoclimat program.
 
However, if this period largely exceeds 6 to 8 weeks, please call us at 1 866 266-0008 to check the status of your payment.

Financial assistance under the Rénoclimat program is not calculated with respect to the percentage of money invested but based on the nature of the work carried out; this includes all types of renovation work.
 
For more information and to find out about the conditions to qualify for financial assistance, feel free to consult our financial assistance section or contact us at 1 866 266-0008.

The test will not damage your house. The energy advisor conducts a series of verifications before the test to ensure that it runs smoothly. There is no need for you to remove the front door to install the blower test equipment; your front door simply needs to be open.

• The first energy evaluation of your home must take place before the renovation work starts.
• The second evaluation must take place after the work is completed and be carried out within a period of 18 months from the date of the first evaluation.

These two conditions must be respected in order to take advantage of the preferential rates for the two energy evaluations and to be eligible for financial assistance under the Rénoclimat program.

The depressurization of the house during the test presents no danger for humans. There is no danger for pets such as cats and dogs, which easily tolerate drops in temperature.
 
Birds and exotic animals however, are more fragile. They should be kept in their cage and moved to the room with the least drafts. Aquarium fish should also be placed in that room.

The Department has drawn up a list of occupational skills and training that are required for becoming a Rénoclimat energy advisor. However, each service organization offering the Rénoclimat program may add other requirements when recruiting advisors.

• Critères d’admissibilité pour devenir conseiller évaluateur Rénoclimat (PDF | 129 KB – in French – Updated May 2011) 

You need to fill out, sign and return the first copy to us. You may keep the second copy for your files.

Some Québec organizations are looking for new applicants to be energy efficiency advisors for Rénoclimat program. If you are interested, please send your CV by e-mail to the companies of your region. They will communicate will communicate will the applicants who meet their needs.

Each service organization offering the Rénoclimat program is in charge of providing the Rénoclimat training program to its advisors. Training is always given by training officers who are mandated by the Department.

The blower door test presents no risks and can be carried out at any time of the year. Results obtained in winter are just as valid as results obtained in summer. Keep in mind, however, that if it is cold outside, the indoor temperature of the house will drop somewhat.

Work related to the conversion of a heating system (such as the replacement of an oil heating system with an electric system) is not eligible for financial assistance under the Rénoclimat program.    
 
If you plan to convert your heating system to another form of energy between the first and second Rénoclimat evaluation, check with your energy efficiency advisor how this conversion could impact the amount of financial assistance you receive.

To schedule the first energy evaluation of your home, call the Department at 1-866-266-0008.   
 
To schedule the evaluation after all the work has been completed, call the energy efficiency advisor who carried out the first evaluation of your home directly or call us at 1-866-266-0008.   
 
Be sure to have the report from your first evaluation and your account number on hand.

Yes, even if your new home was already renovated under the Rénoclimat program, you can use this program yourself to renovate your home and apply for Rénoclimat financial assistance.

No, if you already participated in the Rénoclimat program to renovate your house and you got a financial assistance, you cannot participate in this program again for the same house.

However, if you move, you can take advantage of the Rénoclimat program again to renovate your new home.

The first energy evaluation can last from 2 to 3 hours. The blower door test itself lasts about 30 minutes.
 
The second energy evaluation lasts about one hour, including the blower door test.

If the work listed below is not part of other renovations making it possible to improve the energy efficiency of your home (i.e. increasing its EnerGuide rating by 2 points or more), you will not be eligible to receive financial assistance:
 

• installation of electronic thermostats;
• replacement of air conditioning units;
• water conservation measures;
• replacement of windows;
• replacement of doors;
• light caulking;
• any other measure that is not considered when calculating the EnerGuide energy efficiency rating.

Owners planning to expand their home should be advised that this type of work is not eligible for Rénoclimat financial assistance and can also reduce the amount of financial assistance calculated based on the surface area of the work.

Feel free to discuss this matter with your advisor during the first energy evaluation of your home!

An energy evaluation is a good investment!
 
Take advantage of having an energy efficiency expert in your home to discuss your renovation plans, your energy consumption concerns and the pertinence of the work you would like to undertake to save energy.
 
What is more, the advisor will draw up an evaluation report on the energy performance of your home. Based on the recommendations and advice of the advisor you will be able to determine the most appropriate renovations and reduce your heating bill, year after year! This report will also list points that you can bring up with your contractor, if appropriate.
 
The energy evaluation conducted before you start the renovation work is an excellent return on your investment, without taking into account the available financial assistance options.

Rénoclimat financial assistance is granted based on the nature of the work carried out and in many cases it is also based on the surface area covered by the work.

Amounts are calculated differently according to the form of energy used by the main heating system.

For more information and to find out about the conditions to qualify for financial assistance, feel free to consult our Financial Assistance section or contact us at 1-866-266-0008.

Before your scheduled appointment, the energy efficiency advisor will ask you take a few precautions:

• Do not use your fireplace 24 hours prior to your appointment.
• Remove the ashes from the fireplace to avoid any mess during the blower door test; the ashes can fly out of the fireplace and spread throughout the house.

If you have a pet that does not appreciate visitors, it would be preferable to place it in a cage. That way the animal will be safe and be out of the way during your appointment with the energy efficiency advisor.

Also, birds and exotic animals are more fragile. They should be kept in their cage and moved to the room with the least drafts. Aquarium fish should also be placed in that room.

Natural gas and fuel oil furnaces must be turned off during the blower door test. Wait until the energy efficiency advisor asks you to shut it off temporarily.

All air extraction devices (such as range hoods, dryers, central vacuum cleaners and bathroom fans) must be turned off during the blower door test.

We do not currently offer financial assistance for the purchase and replacement of doors and windows under the Rénoclimat program.
 
However, we would like to stress that this type of work serves to improve the air tightness of your home. Therefore, financial assistance could be offered if you reach or improve the air infiltration reduction target recommended in the energy advisor’s report.
 
For more information and to find out about the conditions to qualify for financial assistance, feel free to consult our Financial Assistance section or contact us at 1-866-266-0008.

If your principal source of energy is electricity, natural gas or propane, we do not currently offer financial assistance for the purchase and replacement of thermostats within the scope of our Rénoclimat program.   
 
Different forms of support are directly offered by energy providers to replace conventional thermostats with electronic thermostats. Please consult Hydro Québec, Gaz Métro, or Gazifère based on the principal source of energy used in your home to find out more about the applicable conditions.   
 
If your principal source of energy is fuel oil, you can take advantage of financial assistance options for the replacement of programmable thermostats used by the central heating system by participating in the Rénoclimat program. Certain conditions apply.

Duplexes and triplexes are eligible under the Rénoclimat program for all sources of energy (except wood).

Buildings containing 4 to 20 units are not eligible under the Rénoclimat program.

You can consult our Eligibility criteria for residential buildings under the Rénoclimat program or contact us at 1-866-266-0008 for more information or to schedule an appointment.

First, check with the advisor who carried out the energy evaluation of your home. The contact information of the advisor can be found on the documents that were given to you after the energy evaluations were conducted.

However, if you received, filled out and returned your financial assistance form and still have yet to receive payment after six to eight weeks, please call us at 1-866-266-0008.

To select the service organizations for the Rénoclimat program, the AEE goes through a public call for tenders that is released on the SEAO Web site at www.seao.ca.

The companies and advisors that are called upon to represent the Rénoclimat program cannot be associated with retailers, suppliers or stores offering products or services that can improve the energy efficiency of a building or are in any way involved with the program in order to deliver the program in the most impartial manner possible.

The last Rénoclimat public call for tenders ended March 2011 and was used to select service organizations that would offer the Rénoclimat program until March 31, 2012 (with the possibility of two term renewals).

New tender notices may be published before the end of the current contracts in order to meet demand in certain regions. If you are interested, please visit the SEAO Web site regularly at www.seao.ca and type in key word “Rénoclimat”. All eligibility criteria and information that is useful to submit your company’s application will only be available at the time the next call for tenders is published.