Ontario · 16 local services · checked September 28, 2026

Home energy audits and home testing in Guelph

Guelph gets about 4,331 heating degree-days a year, 20% of its houses were built before 1961, and 25 NRCan-licensed service organizations list its postal codes. Pick a service for the local details.

Energy audits in Guelph → All 16 services
A Victorian red-brick semi-detached house with a front porch in autumn

How Guelph is built

Guelph's houses by when they were built Ten house shapes, one for each tenth of Guelph's 42,250 houses. Before 1961: 20%, 1961–1990: 34%, 1991–2000: 15%, 2001 or later: 32%. Older houses glow hotter.
  • Before 1961 20%
  • 1961–1990 34%
  • 1991–2000 15%
  • 2001 or later 32%
Each house stands for one in ten of Guelph's 42,250 houses (single-detached, semi-detached, row and duplex), drawn by when it was built. The glow shows the usual pattern: older houses tend to be leakier and less insulated. Snowfall scales with heating degree-days. Sources: Statistics Canada 2021 Census (table 98-10-0233-01), NRCan HOT2000 climate data.

Guelph at a glance

Climate

Guelph gets about 4,331 heating degree-days a year and has a winter design temperature of −20.3°C, according to NRCan's HOT2000 climate data for Mount Forest, the closest comparable location in that data set (64 km away).

Housing

Of Guelph's 42,250 houses (single-detached, semi-detached, row houses and duplexes), 20% were built before 1961 and 54% before 1991, according to the 2021 Census. The typical house dates from 1981–1990.

Heating

In the Guelph area, 61% of households heat mainly with a forced-air furnace; natural gas is the main heating energy for 56% of households (Statistics Canada, 2023).

Radon

Health Canada's 2012 survey found 10.9% of 92 homes tested in the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Health Unit health region above the guideline. The larger 2024 Cross-Canada survey reports 13.5% (1 in 7) of houses at or above the guideline for the Guelph, ON (Guelph CMA) metro area.

Local service guides for Guelph

Energy audits and tests

An energy advisor’s kit on a front-hall bench: infrared camera, pressure gauge with tubing, tape measure, headlamp and a floor sketch

Home energy audit

25 licensed organizations
A red blower-door panel with a large fan fitted into the front doorway of a brick bungalow, a pressure gauge on a stool inside

Blower door test

4,331 degree-days
Hands holding an infrared camera aimed at a ceiling corner beside a frosty window; the screen shows a cold streak

Thermal imaging inspection

4,331 degree-days
A kitchen table with a house floor plan, a laser measure, a tape measure and a laptop showing the plan

Heat loss calculation

Design temp −20.3°C
A duct-testing fan on a basement floor connected by flexible duct to a furnace, a pressure gauge hanging from a joist

Duct leakage testing

61% forced-air
A gloved hand inserting a combustion analyzer probe into a furnace flue pipe in a basement

Combustion safety test

56% heat with gas
A heat recovery ventilator on a basement wall with four insulated ducts running up between the joists

Ventilation and humidity assessment

32% built since 2001
Loose-fill insulation between attic joists, a yellow ruler showing its depth and frost on the roofing nails above

Attic insulation inspection

54% built before 1991
Utility bills and a phone showing a monthly energy-use chart on a kitchen table

Energy bill analysis

Alectra Utilities

Home health tests

A small digital radon monitor on a bookshelf in a finished basement family room

Radon testing

13.5% at or above guideline (2024)
A carbon monoxide alarm on an upstairs hallway wall outside the bedrooms at night

Carbon monoxide testing

Required by law
A moisture meter pressed into water-stained basement drywall, an air-sampling pump on a tripod nearby

Mold and air quality testing

54% built before 1991
A gloved hand holding a sealed sample bag above vermiculite insulation between attic joists

Asbestos and vermiculite testing

54% built before 1991
A gloved hand swabbing layers of cracked old paint on a wooden window sill

Lead paint testing

20% built before 1961
Filling a water-sample bottle at a farmhouse kitchen tap with the aerator removed, snowy fields and a barn outside

Well water testing

Wells rare

For businesses and buildings

An auditor walking between rooftop heating and cooling units on a snowy commercial roof

Commercial energy audit

5 incentive programs

Who does energy evaluations in Guelph

25 NRCan-licensed service organizations list Guelph postal codes. See the list with phone numbers and coverage →

City programs in Guelph

Guelph Greener Homes loan

City of Guelph 0% interest loan (FCM Green Municipal Fund-supported), up to $50,000, repaid over 10 years with property taxes; no admin fee and no income threshold. Covers insulation, air sealing, windows and doors, air-source and cold-climate heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, solar PV and solar hot water. Pre- and post-retrofit energy audit reports are required. Loan funding is almost fully committed: the City is no longer taking loan applications, only waitlist sign-ups.

Guelph Greener Homes low-income heat pump grant

Grants of up to $15,000 (no repayment) for air-source heat pumps for eligible low-income owner-occupied households: property value assessment of $350,000 or less and household income under the City's limits (for example $47,090 for one person, $94,179 for four). A 50% deposit of project cost is required and grants are limited; the City says grant funding is still available.

Rebates and financing for Guelph homes

Provincial · needs an evaluation Home Renovation Savings — Home Energy Assessment path Up to $10,000 per home for insulation, windows and air sealing, plus $600 back on your assessments — if the follow-up assessment is done by December 31, 2026 Open · deadline Provincial Home Renovation Savings — direct rebates (no assessment) Heat pumps up to $7,500 ($12,000 ground-source), solar with battery up to $10,000, plus attic, thermostat and appliance rebates — no assessment needed Open Federal CMHC Eco Improvement premium refund 25% back on your CMHC mortgage insurance premium after $20,000 of energy renovations Open

Cities near Guelph

Cambridge16 kmKitchener21 kmWaterloo26 kmMilton29 kmBurlington38 kmBrantford41 km All 70 cities →

Sources

Checked September 28, 2026.

Planning upgrades in Guelph?

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Email us what you’re planning, your postal code and the type of building (a house, a duplex or triplex, or a larger multi-unit building) — we’ll reply with registered service organizations for your area and which rebates apply.

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