A deep retrofit is a home energy retrofit that reduces your household energy consumption by 50% or more.
Of course, to reach zero emissions by 2050, we need to go further than that. To reach zero emissions in Ottawa, we need to aim for a reduction in household energy use by more than 70%, and a 100% reduction in emissions.
Why Deep Retrofit
To reach our emissions reduction targets, and keep our city and homes healthy and safe over the coming decades, we need to deep retrofit as much as 98% of our local homes by 2040. This is because deep retrofits massively reduce energy consumption and allow us to switch our remaining energy needs to clean energy.
But the good news is, deep retrofits also improve our homes, making them healthier, more resilient, and less expensive to heat and cool over the long term. The same changes to your home that allow reducing energy consumption can also allow you to stay comfortable inside during a power failure, to produce your own energy, or to improve your indoor air quality. Wins all around.
Deep energy retrofits can pull these numbers back into balance, and keep more money in the pockets of local residents who need it most.
Deep retrofits are popular with economists and all our governments for one other big reason: deep retrofits create good, green, local jobs. We can meet our local targets, improve our homes, and jump-start our post-covid local economies, all by retrofitting our homes for a strong future Ottawa.
Deep vs. Shallow
The big benefit of a deep retrofit over a shallow retrofit (10-30% savings) is long-term gains. When you start saving big today, the cumulative gains (in energy and emissions reductions) over the years are much larger, and that makes a difference for meeting our targets, saving money, and supporting a resilient clean energy system.
Supports for Deep Retrofits
Retrofits are a good bet, and deep ones are even better. Our governments agree, and they are jumping on board to encourage residents to retrofit their homes with incentives, rebates and financing support. That means your deep retrofit will be easier and cheaper. Explore the rebates and financing available to you, here.