Solar panels - Canadian government grants

You aren't the only one - I too feel responsible for our environment. Being a Toronto real estate professional, I am always keeping watch for new opportunities to make environmental-friendly living more accesible either for my clients or for whoever is interested. Today I will have a look at how the Canadian government supports solar energy.

Why solar energy?

The greatest advantage of solar energy is its environment-friendliness. The more solar energy we produce, the less conventional energy will have to be made. With the price of energies progressing fast in the last couple of years, many countries all over the world started to endorse the clean energy over the conventional energy. Canada is among them.

Preparation

Without the home energy audit you will not be suitable for receiving any grants, so let's have a look at what needs to be done.
- You only get the grants if you start all the installations AFTER the auditor's first visit.
- It is necessary to be finished with all the reconstruction work in 18 months after the home energy audit.
- To make sure you get all the grants you'd like to, don't forget to keep all the receipts and technical documentation of everything you buy for the renovations plus take photos during the process.
-Don't forget to book your second, which is an important part of the Energy Audit. You will not be able to receive any grants without it.

A note about the cost: The home energy audit will cost you at least $498.75 (first visit $341.25, the second visit $157.50, inc. GST) or a little more (depends on the sq ft of your home). The government will refund you $150 towards the cost of the first evaluation visit.

The grants

Whether you choose to convert the sunlight into the electricity (photovoltaic system) or you would rather use the sunlight to for heating water (solar thermal system), the government decided to help you either way. The federal government decided to provide a grant for up to $500, but only for those who choose a system that meets the CAN/CSA standards. You don't need to hurry up yet, since the grant is available until the end of March 2011. But the federal grant is not all you can get: the Ontario government will much the federal grant so you can get up to $1000. You can also ask for a refund of the 8% RST from the Ontario government.

If you're thinking of claiming the RST, you better hurry up - you can claim it only on equipment purchased until the end of 2009.