Home Energy Audit Experience in Mississauga - What We Found and What It Changed

Canada Ontario
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Got an EnerGuide evaluation on our 1986 Mississauga home in preparation for a Canada Greener Homes Grant application. Sharing the process and what we learned.

Why We Got It Done

We were planning a heat pump installation and wanted the federal grant. The pre-retrofit EnerGuide evaluation is mandatory before any eligible work begins. We also just wanted to understand where our 1986 home was losing energy.

Finding an Energy Advisor

Used the NRCan website (nrcan.gc.ca) to find a registered energy advisor in our area. There are multiple service providers - we got 2 quotes and chose the $445 option (the range in our area was $380-$520).

The Process

The energy advisor (Efficiency One, local company) was at our house for 2.5 hours:

  1. Set up blower door at front door
  2. Depressurized house to 50 Pascals
  3. Walked through entire house with thermal camera while blower door ran
  4. Documented all visible leakage pathways
  5. Measured window sizes and types
  6. Documented HVAC, insulation levels
  7. Checked HRV, exhaust fans, gas appliances

What We Found

Biggest air leakage sources (in order of severity):

  1. Attic hatch: lit up on thermal camera like a spotlight
  2. All 8 pot lights in living room ceiling
  3. Area around fireplace damper (not sealed)
  4. Top plates on interior walls (visible in basement)
  5. Rim joists (moderate)

EnerGuide rating: 63
ACH50: 6.2

Advisor’s Upgrade Recommendations (in priority order)

  1. Attic air sealing ($1,800-$2,500) - 10-15% saving expected
  2. Attic insulation top-up to R-60 ($2,800-$3,500) - additional 8-12%
  3. ASHP installation ($10,000-$15,000 after rebates) - 15-25% on remaining energy
  4. Windows ($18,000-$22,000) - 5-8% saving, lowest ROI per dollar

Our Grant Application

Applied for Greener Homes. Did attic air sealing + insulation first (approved for $1,600 grant). ASHP installation next (pending approval for additional $5,000).

Takeaway

The $445 evaluation was worth every dollar. Without it we would have started with windows (lowest ROI) based on intuition. The blower door + thermal camera completely changed our upgrade priority order.