Motivating Communities to Retrofit Their Homes

This report reviews the technique of thermal imaging as a means of revealing heat loss from single family homes, its current applications in Canada and abroad, and the potential of coupling its use with community-based initiatives to improve uptake rates of energy efficiency retrofits and conservation. [...] Programs, past and present Space heating uses a considerable proportion of household energy demand – in 2008, space heating in Canadian homes accounted for 63% of residential annual energy consumption.v Building inefficiencies can account for as much as half of the total heat loss in a building, making the identification and remediation of these sources of heat loss crucial for reducing emissions [...] In 2014, the LiveSmart program was estimated to have incentivized roughly $110 million in 5 Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions energy retrofit investments, with an estimated 15-28% reduction in energy bills for participating households.vi According to the Ministry of Energy and Mines, 80% of participants in the LiveSmart program completed some form of upgrade to their homes.vii While the Prov [...] The expected expenditures and electricity savings of the residential renovation rebate program were estimated in 2015 to be 67% below what was expected, attributed primarily to the delayed launch of the program following the transition from LiveSmart to the new utility-led model.x FortisBC similarly offers rebates for high efficiency natural gas water heaters, heat pumps, and fireplaces, alongside [...] Over the last several years, a small number of local governments in BC have begun to explore the potential of thermal imaging to encourage retrofit activities, but few examples yet exist of the use of thermal imaging as a part of a larger set of program tools to encourage retrofits in single-family homes.