Home energy audits in Saskatoon

Of Saskatoon's 76,685 houses (single-detached, semi-detached, row houses and duplexes), 19% were built before 1961 and 63% before 1991, according to the 2021 Census. The typical Saskatoon house dates from 1981–1990, and an evaluation is how you find out what that means for yours: the blower door measures air leakage, the advisor inspects the attic, walls, basement, windows and heating system, and the report ranks upgrades by what they'd save.

Saskatoon gets about 5,695 heating degree-days a year, a measure of how much heating its climate needs, and its winter design temperature, the cold day heating systems are sized for, is −32.5°C. Those figures come from the climate data for Saskatoon International in HOT2000, the home-energy software Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) gives energy advisors. That's the 3rd-highest heating demand of the 70 cities we cover. Cold winters: heating is the biggest energy cost, so stopping leaks and insulating come first.

Saskatoon also gets hot spells and heat waves, so plan how the house will stay cool: air sealing, attic insulation and shading help, and a heat pump adds efficient cooling. Wildfire smoke reaches Saskatoon in some summers. The Government of Canada's advice is to keep windows and doors closed, limit exhaust fans and use the best filter your system can handle, so ask the advisor what your furnace or HRV can take.

In the Saskatoon area, 75% of households heat mainly with a forced-air furnace and about 12% with a boiler and radiators; natural gas is the main heating energy for 78% of households and electricity for about 12% (Statistics Canada, 2023). The heating system on the report shapes the recommendations: a forced-air furnace invites a ducted heat pump, electric baseboards a ductless one.

There's no provincial rebate; the City of Saskatoon quotes $500–$600 as typical for the initial EnerGuide evaluation and $300–$400 for the follow-up.

• HELP energy audit rebate: HELP participants get a $1,000 rebate to cover the cost of their EnerGuide energy audits. You must take part in the loan portion of the program to get it. Details

Most providers quote the initial (pre-upgrade) and follow-up (post-upgrade) visits separately. Rebate programs that pay on measured improvement need both, so ask for the combined price.

• Initial evaluation, about 2–3 hours. The advisor measures and inspects the house and runs the blower door test.
• Report and EnerGuide rating. You get the home's energy rating in gigajoules per year and a list of recommended upgrades with estimated savings.
• Do the work. Most rebate programs only count upgrades done after the initial evaluation.
• Follow-up evaluation. A second visit measures the improvement, which is what most rebates pay on.

Read the full guide to home energy audits.