RBC finds Canadian homeowners turn to eco-friendly renovations
to save money
TORONTO, September 17, 2008 — Eco-friendly home
improvements might be all the rage for Canadians planning
home renovations over the next couple of years, according
to RBC's 5th Annual Renovation Study. The poll found
that a majority (60 per cent) of Canadians will include green
options when revamping their homes and of those, 30 per cent
say improved energy efficiency is among the primary reasons
for their renovation plans, up from 14 per cent in 2007.
Yet, 76 per cent said they would do so only if it saved them
money in the long run. In fact, only eight per cent of Canadians
would choose environmentally-friendly improvements if it cost
them more and didn't necessarily save them money down the
road.
"It's very encouraging to see that Canadians continue
to show a strong penchant for eco-renovations," says
Catherine Adams, vice-president, Home Equity Financing. "It's
a win-win for the environment and homeowners regardless of
the reasons. Whether you want to save money, reduce your home's
impact on the environment or simply upgrade your home, an
eco-renovation is a sensible choice all-round."
Many Canadians also hope to profit from their eco-renovations,
as 76 per cent said they believe ecological improvements would
increase the value of their home. Interestingly, of those
who did, 61 per cent said installing solar panels would increase
the value of their homes the most. Replacing windows (67 per
cent) and installing a high-efficiency furnace (64 per cent)
were also popular renovation choices.
LIVING OFF THE GRID
Homeowners also appear open to the idea of taking additional
steps to reduce their homes' carbon footprint. According to
the survey, Canadians are intrigued by the idea of living
"off the grid" - that is, living in a self sufficient
manner without reliance on public utilities - and a majority
(51 per cent) say they would actually consider such a change.
The concept of a "net zero home" appears to be
even more appealing to Canadians, as 66 per cent said they
would consider green options that would enable their homes
to produce at least as much energy as they use. Over half
(fifty-six per cent) believe a "net zero home" is
a possibility for their current home over the next five years
and 71 per cent believe this to be true in the next 10 years.
RBC is sponsoring the "Now House" - part of Canada
Mortgage and Housing Corporation's Equilibrium™ sustainable
housing initiative. Designed to generate as much energy as
it uses, the "Now House" is a retrofit of a 60-year-old
war time house. It features sustainable building technologies
such as upgraded insulation, reduced air leakage, new windows,
radiant floor heating, and the installation of solar panels
and provides a real example of how you can take a typical,
inefficient house and make changes to increase its energy
and water efficiency. To learn more about the "Now House"
visit, www.rbc.com/nowhouse.
AN ENERGY BLUEPRINT FOR YOUR HOME
The survey found that 64 per cent would consider having an
environmental audit done before renovating, to help them better
understand how to reduce energy usage. This is no surprise,
considering homeowners are reporting a 16 per cent increase
in their monthly energy bill compared to the previous year.
"A growing number of Canadians are starting to fundamentally
change the way they think about their homes and its environmental
footprint," says Adams. "The first step to a smart
eco-renovation is an energy audit, and RBC is offering a $300
rebate on a home energy audit with our energy saver mortgage:
www.rbc.com/energysaver."
These are some of the findings of an RBC poll conducted by
Ipsos Reid between August 13 and August 18, 2008. The online
survey is based on a randomly selected representative sample
of 3,733 adult Canadian homeowners. With a representative
sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to
within ± 1.6 percentage points, 19 times out of 20,
of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian
population been polled. These data were statistically weighted
to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects
that of the actual Canadian population according to the 2001
Census data.
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Media contact:
Jackie Braden, RBC, Media Relations, (416) 974-2124
Andrew McNeill, RBC, Royal Bank, (416) 955-2737
For full tabular results, please see the Ipsos Reid website
at www.ipsos.ca
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