HOW OUR HOME ENERGY RETROFITS HELPED LINDSAY SAVE ENERGY & MONEY
For Lindsay Robinson, Efficiency Manitoba’s Strategic Initiatives Technical Lead, energy efficiency isn’t just a professional interest — it’s also personal. Even before he started his career at Efficiency Manitoba, Lindsay and his wife Suzanne decided to address their aging home’s inefficiencies. And they turned to our Home Energy Retrofits for guidance.
Their Winnipeg home, built in 1905, was charming but had room for improvement when it came to comfort and efficiency. “It was freezing on the main floor and boiling on the second floor,” Lindsay says. After a decade of owning the home and tolerating discomfort, inefficient systems, and springtime basement seepage, they decided it was time to act.
Lindsay and Suzanne’s first step was getting an EnerGuide evaluation. This gave them insights into how their home uses and loses energy, an energy rating, and a detailed roadmap of suggested upgrades.
Their home received a pre-retrofit rating of 197 GJ (gigajoules). By comparison, a typical new home of a similar size and layout uses only 114 GJ of energy. The renovation upgrade report Lindsay and Suzanne received from their energy advisor helped them create a retrofit plan to lower their energy use and improve their home’s efficiency.
A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH
Our Home Energy Retrofits, which help Manitobans make comprehensive whole-home energy efficiency upgrades, was a great fit for the extensive work Lindsay and Suzanne had planned. We provide rebates of $75 per gigajoule (GJ) saved, with bonuses for exceptional energy savings.
Before completing mechanical upgrades, Lindsay first made building envelope improvements including insulation, an improved air barrier system, and high-performance windows and doors. This is recommended to maximize the benefits of other upgrades — for example, these measures could help lower the cost of a heat pump system by reducing the size of required heating system.
Additional upgrades to their home included a heat pump water heater, LED lighting, and a new cold climate air source heat pump. This efficient heating and cooling solution maintains a steady indoor temperature throughout Winnipeg’s varying seasons.
The energy advisor returned to the home once all the upgrades were in place to deliver a post-retrofit EnerGuide home evaluation. The final result? A rating of 56 GJ relative to their starting point of 197 — a 70% reduction in energy use, and even better than a comparable typical new home!
Since completing the project in 2023, Lindsay has noticed significant improvements.
“The thermal comfort of the house is way, way better than it was prior.”
— Lindsay
Cold floors and temperature imbalances are now a thing of the past. Lindsay also said their energy bills have gone down significantly, even after adding the cost of charging an electric vehicle. Beyond energy savings and eliminating natural gas use, the retrofit improved the indoor comfort, enhanced their quality of life, and increased the property’s long-term value.
Ready to start your own energy efficiency upgrades? Come save with us! Learn more about our Home Energy Retrofits and other energy-saving offers.