Newfoundland and Labrador · 16 local services · checked September 28, 2026

Home energy audits and home testing in St. John's

St. John's gets about 4,578 heating degree-days a year, 22% of its houses were built before 1961, and 7 NRCan-licensed service organizations list its postal codes. Pick a service for the local details.

Energy audits in St. John's → All 16 services
Colourful wooden row houses on a steep street above a foggy Atlantic harbour

How St. John's is built

St. John's's houses by when they were built Ten house shapes, one for each tenth of St. John's's 42,120 houses. Before 1961: 22%, 1961–1990: 42%, 1991–2000: 11%, 2001 or later: 26%. Older houses glow hotter.
  • Before 1961 22%
  • 1961–1990 42%
  • 1991–2000 11%
  • 2001 or later 26%
Each house stands for one in ten of St. John's's 42,120 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.

St. John's at a glance

Climate

St. John's gets about 4,578 heating degree-days a year and has a winter design temperature of −12.8°C, according to NRCan's HOT2000 climate data for St-John's International.

Housing

Of St. John's's 42,120 houses (single-detached, semi-detached, row houses and duplexes), 22% were built before 1961 and 64% before 1991, according to the 2021 Census. The typical house dates from 1971–1980.

Heating

In the St. John's area, 58% of households heat mainly with electric baseboards, about 7% with a heat pump, about 7% with a boiler and radiators and about 6% with a forced-air furnace; electricity is the main heating energy for 65% of households and oil for 12% (Statistics Canada, 2023).

Radon

Health Canada's 2012 survey found 4% of 100 homes tested in the Eastern Regional Integrated Health Authority health region above the guideline. In the City of St. John's free test-kit program, about 345 kits went out in November 2024 and 278 homes completed testing over the winter; about one in ten of them were above Health Canada's 200 Bq/m³ guideline. The participants were volunteers, so it isn't a random survey.

Local service guides for St. John's

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

7 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

4,578 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

4,578 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 −12.8°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

about 6% forced-air
A gloved hand inserting a combustion analyzer probe into a furnace flue pipe in a basement

Combustion safety test

No piped gas
A heat recovery ventilator on a basement wall with four insulated ducts running up between the joists

Ventilation and humidity assessment

26% 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

64% built before 1991
Utility bills and a phone showing a monthly energy-use chart on a kitchen table

Energy bill analysis

Newfoundland Power

Home health tests

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

Radon testing

About 1 in 10 high (city kit program)
A carbon monoxide alarm on an upstairs hallway wall outside the bedrooms at night

Carbon monoxide testing

No rule found
A moisture meter pressed into water-stained basement drywall, an air-sampling pump on a tripod nearby

Mold and air quality testing

64% built before 1991
A gloved hand holding a sealed sample bag above vermiculite insulation between attic joists

Asbestos and vermiculite testing

64% built before 1991
A gloved hand swabbing layers of cracked old paint on a wooden window sill

Lead paint testing

22% 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 in some areas

For businesses and buildings

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

Commercial energy audit

1 incentive program

Who does energy evaluations in St. John's

7 NRCan-licensed service organizations list St. John's postal codes. See the list with phone numbers and coverage →

City programs in St. John's

Make the Shift (Shift Program) - Home Energy Navigators

Free Home Energy Navigator guidance for homeowners in the City of St. John's, from econext with support from the City (FCM Green Municipal Fund). It covers planning upgrades, finding grants and rebates, and access to lower-interest energy-retrofit loans through program partner Newfoundland and Labrador Credit Union (rates not published), plus optional financial-advisor help. Launched September 2025; site updated June 2026.

Make the Shift subsidized initial energy audit

For a limited time, Shift Program participants in St. John's can get an initial energy audit (EnerGuide) subsidized to $99, which the City describes as 80% off the regular cost. Book at maketheshiftnl.ca, 709-979-0362 or hello@maketheshiftnl.ca.

Rebates and financing for St. John's homes

Provincial takeCHARGE (Newfoundland & Labrador) Utility rebates on selected equipment — thermostats, insulation offers and more, rotating seasonally — with no broad retrofit program behind them Open · deadline Federal CMHC Eco Improvement premium refund 25% back on your CMHC mortgage insurance premium after $20,000 of energy renovations Open

Cities near St. John's

Charlottetown797 kmHalifax893 kmMoncton931 kmSaint John1041 kmFredericton1070 kmSaguenay1371 km All 70 cities →

Sources

Checked September 28, 2026.

Planning upgrades in St. John's?

Tell us where you are and what you’re planning. We’ll connect you with a registered service organization for your area — no spam, no shared lead lists.

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.

Email dave@clickshift.ca

This inbox is answered by a person. Participating advisors pay us a referral fee — you pay nothing, and it never affects the directory.