Eligible Ontario homeowners to get smart thermostats
Environment and Climate Change Minister unveiled the program through Green Ontario Fund, launched with revenues from cap-and-trade program.

thestar.com
By ROB FERGUSON
Aug. 30, 2017

Psssst! Want a smart thermostat . . . for free?

Ontario is offering them, installed, also at no cost, along with free home energy reviews to 100,000 households in a bid to help cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Environment and Climate Change Minister Chris Ballard unveiled the $40-million program Wednesday through the new Green Ontario Fund, which was launched with $377 million in revenues from the province’s cap-and-trade program.

Aside from saving on the retail cost of a smart thermostat - this falls within the range of $200 to $350, depending on the model - Ballard said parents will want to get in on this to cut their heating and air-conditioning costs, which kids often have a hand in increasing.

There’s also the pure joy of putting one over on their offspring.

“I’ve had one for about three years, and it’s really cool,” he told a news conference at the Artscape Wychwood Barns on Christie St.

“My kids would come home on a hot, sweaty spring day, and, you’ll note, there’s more and more hot, sweaty spring days.

“I’d be at work and they’d immediately crank up the air-conditioning,” Ballard added.

“I would get a notification on my smartphone about some activity going on and I would quietly dial back down the air-conditioning numbers. No fuss, no muss. There was no arguing. There were no problems. They didn’t even know what had gone on.”

The free smart thermostats and installation will “help (households) reduce their carbon pollution and save money,” Ballard said.

Homeowners and tenants can register now for the program, which will begin in the fall after more details have been worked out. They can do this online on a first-come, first-served basis.

Ministry officials said households can save as much as 15 per cent on their energy bills by adjusting the temperature a couple of degrees when no one is home.

“When you’re saving energy, you’re saving money,” said Green Ontario Fund chairman Parminder Sandhu.

The program is open to people in detached and semi-detached homes, townhomes or row homes.

Residents of multi-unit buildings do not qualify.

Ballard said the free home-energy reviews will provide “personalized suggestions to help save money and help fight climate change.”

He also advised Ontarians to go to the web site to learn details of other programs available to help save money and energy, and promised more programs to come, once the thermostat offer is underway.

“There will be larger-ticket initiatives coming forward.”

Sandu said the government is still making arrangements to purchase and hire installers for the 100,000 smart thermostats.

“This is a big job.”

The plan now is to allow homeowners to pick, which model they prefer, Sandu said.

(Products from Nest, Honeywell and Toronto-based Ecobee are available.)

Ontario held the second auction in its cap-and-trade program in June in a sell-out of emission allowances. It raised $504 million. An earlier auction raised $472 million.

Under the cap-and-trade, there is a limit or cap on the amount of pollution companies in certain industries can release into the air, and they must purchase allowances if they exceed those limits.

This can be done through auctions or from companies that produce less pollution than their limit.

The idea is to create a financial incentive for businesses to be cleaner.

In total, cap-and-trade is forecast to add $1.8 billion to government coffers this fiscal year.