Submitted by Ryan Matheson,
BPBA Climate Action Program Manager
Nearly 350 residents completed the Home Energy Efficiency and Climate Change Survey by the Bruce Peninsula Biosphere Association (BPBA) last month. The purpose was to gauge the appetite for home energy efficiency improvements, and to understand attitudes about climate change. Results reveal a budding market for home energy retrofits that may be worth upwards of $32 million. The survey also found that 85% of residents agree that climate change is real and is being primarily driven by human activity.
The survey is part of a larger Climate Action initiative between the Biosphere Association and the Municipality to lower greenhouse gas emissions in our community, and to create a Climate Action Plan. To learn about the ongoing Climate Action process in our community, visit letstalknbp.ca for updates, events, and info on how to get involved!
See the key findings of the survey below.
Home Energy Efficiency
Energy Retrofits: When asked which items they were considering upgrading or replacing in the next 5 years, homeowners responded as follows:
Energy Audits: There is likely a significant market to conduct Home Energy Audits in Northern Bruce Peninsula, that is, a home inspection and a report which tells homeowners which retrofits would be most cost effective at lowering energy costs. Over 90% of respondents may be interested in an audit if it leads to savings in home energy costs, or if fully reimbursed for the cost of the audit. Under the new Federal Greener Homes Initiative, Energy Audit costs are refunded if the homeowner acts on one or more of the energy efficiency recommendations in the auditor’s report.
Boosting the Green Economy: These responses show that there may be a home energy efficiency market worth tens-of-millions of dollars in our community. For example, if this study is representative of Northern Bruce Peninsula, 23% of homeowners plan to replace their heating systems over the next 5 years – a $9.2 million opportunity for HVAC installers. When combined with the demand for energy audits, and retrofits for insulation, weatherstripping, lighting, windows, and doors, this data represents a $32 million market opportunity for contractors specializing in home energy upgrades.
Heating with Fossil Fuel: 53% of participants use propane as their primary heat source, each using about 2,100 liters of propane per year at an annual cost of about $1,575, and annual carbon emissions of 2.3 metric tonnes per household. Wood stoves were the next most popular at 18%, then electric resistance at 10%, electric heat pumps at 4%, and oil furnaces at 3%.
Electric Heat Pumps: The survey asked about awareness and interest around electric heat pumps in Northern Bruce Peninsula. Electric heat pumps are 2-in-1 heating and cooling systems that are 3-6 times more efficient than resistance electric heating methods like baseboard heaters. Because they are not powered by fossil fuels, and because they are hyper-efficient, heat pumps are quickly becoming a favourite choice for homeowners to reduce their energy bills and their carbon emissions. Further, the Government of Canada is currently offering a $5,000 rebate on heat pump installation when you register your home through the Greener Homes Initiative. If you would like to learn more about heat pumps, or energy audits, visit bpba.ca/projects/climate-action/energy-efficiency.
Level of familiarity with heat pumps was split evenly, with 50% of respondents being either somewhat or very familiar, and 46% being not very, or not at all familiar.
Nearly 70% said that they would be encouraged to install a heat pump if it led to savings on home energy costs. 47% said they would consider installing one if it led to greenhouse gas emissions reduction, and 61% said that a cash rebate would be an encouraging incentive. 6% of respondents said that they already owned an electric heat pump. The results show that the Peninsula may be ready to join what some HVAC installers are calling “The Heat Pump Revolution”.
Climate Change
94% of respondents agreed that there is solid evidence of the Earth warming over the past 4 decades. 85% acknowledged that this warming is due primarily to human activity, compared to 8% who thought it was due to natural patterns, while 6% thought global warming was due to a combination of the two.
When asked about the harm that climate change will inflict, 70% said they thought that people in Canada were already feeling negative impacts, and 54% thought people in Ontario have already felt negative impacts.
Finally, when asked about addressing climate change, 72% opposed the notion that we should just concentrate on adapting to warmer climate. Implying significant support for direct action in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.
Thank you to Hellyer’s Foodland, Peacock’s Foodland, and The Easy Farm for donating the prizes for the survey, and congratulations to the winners of the $100 grocery gift cards – Jennifer Barratt Parker, Mark Kelner, and Laura Pisko. Thank you to all those who have participated so far, and a reminder that the survey is still open for any seasonal or year-round resident of Northern Bruce Peninsula, and can be found at www.surveymonkey.com/r/NBP-Energy-Survey .
