Common Clean Energy Financing Questions and Their Answers

Clean Energy Financing (CEF) is the key to reducing energy costs  in your home. The program allows homeowners in participating municipalities throughout Nova Scotia to access low-interest financing for home energy upgrades.

If you’re thinking about applying but still have some questions about the program, take a read through some common questions and their answers below.  

How do I pay the program fee?

The program fee is included in the total financing amount. You don’t have to pay for anything upfront, and your payments only start once all upgrades are completed.

Where do I book the home energy assessment?

We will schedule your assessment with one of our Clean Foundation Energy Advisors.

How do I get rebates for the upgrades I’ve done?

Your Energy Advisor will make recommendations for energy upgrades and review qualifying rebates with you prior to approval and work being done in your home. Your Energy Advisor will start the rebate application at the follow-up home visit once all upgrades are installed.

How soon after the upgrades are completed do the re-payments begin?

Homeowners will be informed by their municipality of the date and amount of the re-payment within 1-2 months of all upgrades being installed.

Why is it sometimes hard to include windows and doors even though they are approved upgrades?

Windows  and doors are eligible through the program; however, they are expensive and provide less energy savings when compared to upgrades like insulation and heat pumps which means they may not meet our required debt to savings ratio. They can sometimes be included if they are packaged with upgrades that provide a better return on investment.

Why do my energy upgrades need to be approved?

When applying for CEF you get a maximum budget  depending on your municipality that you can use to make energy efficient upgrades to your home. However, in order for upgrades to be approved, you will have to provide quotes for the work that you want to perform. Our team will then calculate the return on investment of the quoted upgrades based on the expected annual savings of each upgrade. If the quoted upgrades are within budget and within the return on investment allowed, then they are approved.

Have more questions? Reach out to our helpful team or scroll through the rest of our FAQs to learn more about reducing your home energy costs.

 

I noticed in the social copy above you say the key to energy savings and here you save the key to reducing energy costs. I know we had some discussion around both. Curious about your thoughts on picking one for consistency or using both messages?  I’m not sold on one vs. the other 🙂 [KD1]

 

Do we need a brief description of the program before going into the Q&A in case this is the reader’s first exposure to CEF? Or maybe even a link to more general info to not add a bunch of copy here? [KD2]

 

Is it the same for doors? Doors are referenced in the question but not the answer.  [KD3]

 

Do you know what criteria the maximum budget is based on? Anticipating this as a question that may be asked based on this response.  [KD4]

Clean Energy Financing is available in 12 municipalities around Nova Scotia. Find out if yours is one and apply today to get home energy upgrades that save you money.