CAFES joined the Glebe Community Association’s Environment Committee for an insightful tour of heat pumps in the Glebe on May 10th. 

The tour aimed to help residents with aging furnaces better understand how to transition to electric heat pumps. On this tour, five Glebe homeowners who installed heat pumps in their century-old residences shared their experiences, including cost breakdowns of the process. This allowed attendees to see exterior heat pump units and ask questions relating to selection, installation, and operation.

After the tour, attendees gathered in the Glebe Community Centre for a Q&A with Shawn Carr of Hydro Ottawa, Jason Vanderzwan and Jamaal Francis of EnviroCentre, and Chris Taggart of Electrify613.

Electrify613 offers free information and resources to help homeowners electrify their homes, such as by installing heat pumps. EnviroCentre spoke about financing options, such as the federal Canada Greener Homes Loan and the City of Ottawa's Better Homes Program, managed by EnviroCentre. Hydro Ottawa spoke to the provisions it's taking to handle the increased electricity demand from electrified homes.

Read the GCA's report on the tour here.