Program in Old Ottawa South offering a way forward in retrofitting older homes

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For some Old Ottawa South homeowners, modernizing their century-old residences has always been appealing. But it can be a hassle and expensive.

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“You always find surprises when you’re opening the walls or smashing all the floors, like what we did. … It was a complete tear down and rebuild,” said Matthew Lacompt, who undertook a total renovation of his 100-year-old home in the neighborhood several years ago.

To help others deal with these types of surprises during renovations, EnviroCentre, an Ottawa-based organization that supports businesses and homeowners with sustainability efforts, has developed a program that seeks to demystify energy efficiency upgrades.

I call Future Homes Ottawa, the pilot program launched last year in Old Ottawa South provides homeowners with information about the incentive and rebate programs available through the city’s Energy Evolution strategy, with the goal of getting Ottawa to net-zero emissions by 2050. Future Homes provided home energy assessments for six interested homeowners, developing demonstration project homes that are used to showcase some of the key features of an energy efficient home. (The owners of the six demo homes have completed their initial audits and acquired bids from the contractors, and Future Homes supports their modifications.)

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The program was the beneficiary of the first grant awarded by the new Ottawa Climate Action Fund (OCAF), a local organization funded with a $21.7 million endowment from the federal government that helps support low-carbon solutions in the city. Tina Nicholson, director of partnerships and programs for OCAF, said the EnviroCentre project gives homeowners the “opportunity to take a look at their home as a system to make informed energy upgrade upgrades.”

“When you’re looking to do energy upgrades and deep renovations, you make sure you have contractors and service providers working together,” Nicholson said, noting that homeowners doing energy-efficient upgrades may need to go to multiple vendors to install a pump. update heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, and perform electrical work.

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The pilot program concluded earlier this year, with a report on its engagement efforts released in April. The second phase of the program will be implemented at the end of this year.

Future Homes Ottawa said it continues to grow local homeowners’ interest in net-zero-ready retrofits as it prepares Ottawa dealers to execute massive retrofits in the coming years. The program, the organization said, is intended to position Ottawa to take advantage of emerging support for massive national modernizations.

However, not everyone agrees with offering incentives for modernization projects. Rebecca Will, who owns a house in Old Ottawa South built in 1912, said it’s not the best use of money.

“Of course, our house needs improvements from time to time. It’s like your car needs to be taken to the shop from time to time,” said Will. “That’s the price of owning something.”

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Will said he prefers the funds go to people who can’t afford a home.

“Why do we need to subsidize older people in society, including myself, we have all had good employment opportunities all our lives. I would prefer to finance (support) people who are just coming in,” added Will. “My son is going to have a lot of trouble buying a house despite graduating. So that’s what I feel. I don’t like these programs that are to help people who already have a lot”.

However, other homeowners in Old Ottawa South have shown interest in continuing the “deep remodels” promoted by the project.

“We’ve been renovating this house for 20 years,” said Susan Townley, whose house was built in 1926. She said she’s very interested in the initiative.

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Townley said her house used to be a multi-generational home where her four children were raised. Originally there were only three rooms, so her family changed the physical layout of the house and added a room upstairs. Townley’s husband did all the work except for the electrical and plumbing, which she did professionally.

More generally, Brodie Kinnear, project developer for Future Homes Ottawa, said that comfortable living is generally “all about drafts, air sealing and insulation. When we are talking about these houses of the century. A lot of that (problems) has to do with the fact that they are old, drafty. So you don’t get stable temperatures throughout the year or even during the day.”

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For example, Kinnear said, homeowners know it’s getting too hot, but their homes are still cold. As a result, they are burning more fuel than necessary and increasing their carbon footprint.

Kinnear said that 45 percent of greenhouse gas emissions come from existing homes and buildings in Ottawa, mostly from heating and cooling, and aAbout 27 percent of homes need to be retrofitted by 2030 and 98 percent by 2050 to help reach the city’s net-zero emissions goal.

Improving energy efficiency, Nicholson said, can also create a healthier home environment.

For example, Nicholson has asthma, so he said he’s “very aware of the improvement in air quality” in his home after the remodel.

“If it’s not properly insulated, there might be condensation and mold. If someone has an underlying health condition, he can make things worse,” Nicholson said.

Nicholson added that the project is also about modification “education” for the average residential homeowner.