Impacts of Housing on GHG Emissions
In 2019, Peterborough City Council passed a Climate Emergency Declaration to expedite achieving the community-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions goal of 45% reduction by 2030 from 2011 levels. To support meeting this emission goal, low-rise residential buildings are being targeted for climate action because they represent 39% of Peterborough's total community GHG emissions. Renovating existing homes is key to limiting emissions. This can be achieved by incorporating building improvements to lessen inefficient energy and fossil fuel use. A recent building survey found that Peterborough contains the following housing profile:
- Single-family homes represent 58% of the City’s existing housing stock
- Most of the housing stock (65%) was built before 1980
- Natural gas space heating accounts for more than 80% of housing-related emissions
Reducing energy consumption from older detached homes will help in lowering community GHG emissions by using less overall energy. Transitioning away from fossil fuels for space and water heating to electric or heat pumps will also rapidly decrease housing emissions.
Once launched, the Home Energy Efficiency Program will support participating homeowners through a financing mechanism to undertake energy renovations that will lead to a reduction in community GHG emissions.
The Home Energy Efficiency Program has been rebranded as the Better Homes Peterborough program.
It publicly launched on April 22, 2025, and provides financial support for homeowners interested in carrying out energy efficiency upgrades to their homes.
Financing is being provided to applicants by the City of Peterborough through secured loans of up to $50,000 at 4.5% interest to be repaid via property tax bills over 15 years. Incentives are currently available for eligible applicants to access additional financial support to lower the overall loan costs. All low-rise (less than three storeys) residential detached, semi-detached, townhouses, and rowhouses in the city of Peterborough are permitted to join the program. Rental properties are also eligible to participate.
To learn more, contact Better Homes Peterborough staff by calling toll-free at 1-888-284-9417, emailing betterhomesptbo@envirocentre.ca, or visit https://betterhomesptbo.ca/ today.
