The Federal government just announced $1,000 to $5,000 grant to pay for energy upgrade retrofits (replacement to EnerGuide). Anyone know a link containing the details? Sounds like time to replace my 25 year old boiler before they cancel this one.

This program starts in April. Here is a link. I'm going to get a new water heater just in time.:D
Office of Energy Efficiency (http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/corporate/retrofit-summary.cfm)

Would April be after the next federal election? :(

The Tories are wasting more money than the liberals! If they want people to use less electricity then stop subsidizing it!

Hugh. I'm not sure I understand your comment. It's preferable to continue using inefficient appliances? It would be better to switch the dependencies to gas, a non-renewable resource? Not sure why you think an estimated 30% reduction (gov't figures so we'll take a flyer on that one ) per household is a step in the wrong direction.

Quite a bit of energy goes into the manufacture of some appliances. Where the appliances don't use a lot of electricity themselves, for the overall good of the environment, a (premature) changeout of that appliance may not be necessary.

In the event of an ineffiecient refrigerator, replacement is often worthwhile.

I think the grants are for home improvements that save energy, not appliances. Things like upgrading to a high efficiency furnace, upgrading windows, stopping air leaks and upgrading insulation are covered. To prevent waste, an audit is done before and after the upgrades. That way you get the grant based on overall improvement of energy efficiency, not just for any money spent on home improvement.

This is good news, better get the guide done before then

Hi buddy, I make too much money to qualify for financial aid apparently. I take out student loans to pay for my college and still have to spend about $4,000 extra per year because the loans don't cover my entire tuition/books. One of my classmates recently got a brand new coach purse, cell phone and new clothes. Let me get this straight, her college is 100% paid, doesn't have to be paid back and still gets a refund back to spend on purses when I can barely cover tuition?