Visit Climate Friendly Homes in New Westminster to see firsthand what people are doing to make their homes more comfortable and climate friendly.
What is a Climate Friendly Home? A Climate Friendly Home is an energy-efficient, all-electric, zero-emissions home that does not burn fossil fuels such as natural gas or oil for heat, hot water or cooking. A Climate Friendly Home can also have lots of other useful features that make the home more sustainable, comfortable to live in, cheaper to operate, and more!
Check out homes in New Westminster and see which homes you would like to visit on the tour.
You can preview each home and learn about the measures that have been implemented to make the home climate friendly by browsing the map and selecting each home.
Once you have found the places you would like to view, you can plan a route for your tour. Neighbourhood parking may be limited so it is encouraged that you get there by taking more sustainable modes of transport like walking, cycling, or public transit.
When you visit each home, please remember to ask the homeowner questions about their experience getting their upgrades and how they are working for them. Local energy experts may be in attendance at select locations to answer more technical questions.
Climate Action in the City of New Westminster
- Community Energy and Emissions Plan 2050: https://www.newwestcity.ca/database/files/library/CEEP_2050.pdf
- Energy Save New West – Existing Homes webpage: https://energysavenewwest.ca/existing-homes/
- Energy Save New West – Multi-Unit Residential Buildings webpage: https://energysavenewwest.ca/multi-unit-residential-buildings/
What Makes a Home Climate Friendly?
A Climate Friendly Home:
- Uses a heat pump for heating in the winter and cooling in the summer
- Efficient electric hot water tank or heat pump hot water heater
- Well insulated/draft free
- High performance windows and doors
- Energy efficient appliances such as induction stoves
- Electric stove and appliances
- Has no appliances or systems that burn fossil fuels, such as natural gas, propane or oil
- Is generating its own renewable energy using renewable energy technologies.
Where to Start
Regardless of where you are in your home retrofit journey, there are plenty of free support programs and available incentives to help you take the next step to reduce emissions and increase energy efficiency.
- Head over to the Canada Greener Homes page to find out about Federal incentives and options.
- Check out Clean BC to see the Provincial incentives
- BC Hydro also has a range of rebates that you may be eligible for
- Visit Energy Save New West, New Westminster’s community energy-efficiency program, to learn about our made-in-New West energy efficiency services, training, and incentives, including a free virtual home energy evaluation through the BC Home Energy Planner Pilot and an in-home pre-retrofit EnerGuide evaluation for just $75.