We coordinate energy efficiency renovations to make homes more affordable and comfortable through all our Maritime seasons.
The impact of tighter homes and lower energy bills helps families and reduces our community’s long-term emissions. Apply today!
About Energize Bridgewater Home Upgrades
Energize Bridgewater’s Home Upgrades Program stacks federal and provincial incentives along with Clean Energy Financing to make it easier for homeowners and landlords to afford energy efficient improvements like heat pumps, insulation, draft proofing, and more.
Let us help find the right solution for you!
Program Eligibility
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Any homeowner or landlord within the Town of Bridgewater struggling to afford energy bills is eligible, including owners of single family homes, semi-detached homes, and mobile homes. Apply for Energize Bridgewater Home Upgrades if:
Your total family net income is within the levels shown in the Income Qualification Chart below, noting that net income is usually lower than gross income.
You own a single-detached, semi-detached, or mobile home located in Bridgewater and can provide proof of ownership. Copies of documentation must be submitted with your application.
You live in your home year-round, no more than 50% of the home is used for profit-generating purposes, it is your current primary residence, and you do not plan to sell it in the near future.
The program does not extend to renters, though it does include landlords who want to reduce the running costs of a single-unit rental home.
Owners of multi-unit buildings can apply to the Affordable Multifamily Housing program instead.
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A Home Upgrades Program Navigator will support participants at every step, helping them find best-fit financing and figuring out which improvements will best reduce home heating bills.
The Program will stream participants to the right financing option depending on homeowner needs, considering income and life situation.
The process will begin and end with a home energy assessment to measure before-and-after results, with the post-upgrade assessment confirming projected cost savings.
Program administrators will schedule Home Energy Advisors and contractors for assessments and upgrades so that participants don’t need to hire and manage their own contractors.
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Based on the Home Energy Advisor’s report for your home, we’ll put together some packages blending an array of energy-saving upgrades for your home. The choices you make are up to you. Free upgrades could include:
Draftproofing seals cracks in walls, ceilings, floors, or around windows and doors. This prevents your home from losing warm air in the winter and cold air in the summer.
Insulation reduces heat loss and gain by providing a barrier between the inside or your home and the different temperature outside. If your home qualifies, insulation may be installed in your attic, main walls, and/or basement.
A heat pump heats and cools your home by transferring thermal energy from the outdoors. While they use electricity to transfer heat from a cool space to a warm space, they’re much more efficient than baseboard electric heaters or a forced air oil furnace, and cost less to operate.
If you don’t already have one, you may need a new 200 amp electrical panel to support a heat pump.
A dehumidifier runs on electricity and draws water from the air to reduce and maintain humidity levels. It prevents mildew and mould in homes that have damp basements.
Carbon monoxide detectors alarm when carbon monoxide is present in the air. Any home with combustion appliances should have one.
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If you aren’t eligibility for Energize Bridgewater Home Upgrades, one of our other programs might be right for you. Contact us to learn more.
Income Qualification Chart
1 person
2 to 4 people
5 or more people
$29,580
$55,928
$77,571
Calculated by subtracting line 435 from line 236 in your Tax Notice of Assessment.
Last updated March 24, 2025.
To confirm your eligibility, ask questions, or to join the program, please reach out to us by calling (902) 530-3621, emailing info@energizebridgewater.ca, or filling in the contact form below.
If your income does not meet these criteria, or if your home is heated by oil, please reach out us - funding criteria change regularly and we can inform you of any other options that may be available to you. For example, your household may quality for the Clean Energy Financing program instead.
Find out more about Energize Bridgewater Home Upgrades!
“We’ve designed the Home Upgrades Program to improve the affordability of our community. Every time we help tighten up a home, we aim to reduce its energy costs by half. These upgrades won’t help a little — they’ll help a lot.”
Apply Now
The first step for eligible Bridgewater homeowners is to fill in an application for the HomeWarming program delivered by Efficiency Nova Scotia. You will automatically join Energize Bridgewater Home Upgrades when you apply. Use the button below to apply online or call us at (902) 530-3621 to get a paper application form.
— Jessica McDonald, Energize Bridgewater Director
The process: what to expect after you’ve applied
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After you’ve applied and submitted all required documents, our program partner, Efficiency Nova Scotia, will review your application. If additional information is needed to determine your eligibility, either their staff or the Energize Program Navigator will contact you.
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A Home Energy Advisor will be assigned to you and will conduct an initial energy assessment on your home. The assessment will show what types of energy upgrades will make the biggest impact on reducing your home energy costs.
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Once we’ve reviewed the Home Energy Advisor’s report, our team will put together some upgrade options for you to consider based on the best combination of energy-saving upgrades for your home. Free upgrades could include draft proofing, insulation, a heat pump, a new electrical panel, a dehumidifier, or a carbon monoxide detector.
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If there are additional upgrades recommended for your home that are not covered free of charge in the list above, you may be eligible to apply for low-interest financing from the Town of Bridgewater. If you would like to finance part of your upgrades, we will help you fill out the paperwork to set up the financing agreement.
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Once you agree on which upgrades you would like to carry out, a contractor will contact you to schedule your home energy upgrades. More than one appointment may be required to complete all of the work.
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After your upgrades are complete, a Home Energy Advisor will perform a final Home Energy Assessment. This will show you how the upgrades have improved the energy efficiency of your home. And that’s it – you can start enjoying all the benefits of a more energy efficient home.