What is an EnerGuide home evaluation?

An EnerGuide home evaluation is an official energy assessment of your home conducted by a certified energy advisor, giving you a standardized rating that shows how energy-efficient your home is and where you're losing the most heat or money.

The evaluation is part of Natural Resources Canada's EnerGuide program, and it's the foundation for most major home energy rebate programs in Ontario — including the Canada Greener Homes Grant and various Enbridge/utility rebates. The advisor visits your home, conducts a blower door test (which pressurizes the house to find air leaks), inspects insulation levels, reviews your heating and cooling systems, and examines windows, doors, and ventilation. At the end, your home receives an EnerGuide rating on a scale of 0 to 100, where 100 represents a perfectly airtight, net-zero home.

You receive two ratings: your current home performance and a projected rating showing what your home could achieve after recommended upgrades. This report becomes your roadmap for prioritizing renovations — whether that's adding attic insulation, air sealing the basement rim joists, upgrading to a heat pump, or replacing old windows. The advisor will rank improvements by impact and estimated cost savings, which is genuinely useful for planning a multi-year renovation strategy.

In Ottawa, this evaluation is especially valuable given our climate. Ottawa sits in one of Canada's harshest heating zones, with long winters, significant freeze-thaw cycling, and heating seasons that stretch from October through April. Homes here can lose enormous amounts of energy through poorly insulated attics, drafty rim joists, and aging windows — problems the EnerGuide evaluation is specifically designed to identify. Post-war bungalows in areas like Alta Vista or Carlington, and older homes in the Glebe or Centretown, often score lower and have the most to gain from targeted upgrades.

The cost of an evaluation typically runs $400–$600 for the pre-retrofit assessment, though this fee is often partially or fully rebated when you complete eligible upgrades through programs like Canada Greener Homes. A post-retrofit evaluation (required to claim rebates) is usually included in the program or costs a similar amount.

Your next steps are straightforward: book an evaluation through a Natural Resources Canada-registered energy advisor (search at nrcan.gc.ca), and do it before starting any major energy upgrades — you need the pre-retrofit assessment on file to qualify for rebates. Once you have your report, you'll have a clear, prioritized list of improvements and can start getting quotes from contractors. You can also browse our Ottawa contractor directory to find verified insulation, HVAC, and window professionals ready to help you act on those recommendations.