Albertans embrace high-efficiency furnace program03/09/2004Several thousand Alberta homes are now heated by high-efficiency furnaces, thanks to an incentive program from Climate Change Central, Natural Resources Canada's (NRCan) Office of Energy Efficiency and furnace manufacturers. "Some 4,200 Alberta households got rebates of up to $400 for buying high-efficiency ENERGY STAR® furnaces between January and March of 2004," says Lorne Taylor, co-chair of Climate Change Central and Alberta Environment Minister. "Response was overwhelming and indicated a big demand for this type of energy-efficient furnace," says Simon Knight, director of Energy Solutions Alberta, Climate Change Central's energy efficiency office. "Because of this program, Albertans reduced their heating costs by $1.5 million a year, cut their annual greenhouse gas emissions by more than 9,500 tonnes and shielded themselves from future natural gas price increases." "The $400 rebate was enough to push us to a high-efficiency model," says Calgary homeowner Val Lawton, whose monthly gas bill dropped to $76 in April 2004 from $267 in April 2003. During the program, perhaps 75 per cent of all replacement furnaces purchased in Alberta were high-efficiency models, compared with 30 per cent normally. The replacement program also generated $16 million in furnace sales and installations. "We had triple the furnace installations we would normally have at that time of the season," says Ken Fagnan, owner of a Calgary furnace installation company. The furnace program was a three-month pilot, ending March 31, 2004. "Because of the furnace program's success, we're looking at offering incentive programs in other energy-efficiency areas," says Knight. "Watch our web site (www.energysolutionsalberta.com) for program announcements." Alberta Furnace Replacement Program Facts
Contact: Simon Knight, Director Climate Change Central (780) 408-4581 |
