Giveaway open to Canadians.

I’m sure your home isn’t in need of any updates, right? Okay then, move along. You certainly don’t want to win a $50 RONA gift card, and I’m sure you have no interest in learning how to save on utility bills and possibly qualify for a fantastic mortgage (how does 3.89 % sound?)

Oh, you are interested? Well then, let’s dig right in.

Right now, BMO is offering an Eco Smart Mortgage to qualified homeowners, in an effort to reward and encourage Canadians who are making changes and looking to reduce their energy usage. The BMO checklist varies depending on whether you own a house or highrise condo, but the idea is that you have to meet their energy efficiency criteria in order to qualify. Check out their website for details and FAQ. If you qualify, contact a mortgage specialist at your local BMO branch. Even if you’re not looking for a new mortgage at the moment, it’s still worth it to read on. Promise.

I completed the checklist myself, as I have an eight year old house that I assumed was pretty energy efficient. Though I’m not currently shopping for a new mortgage, I am certainly interested in learning about how to make home improvements, and let’s be honest, save money. The results?

High-efficiency heating system: CHECK!
Our oil furnace is more than 85% efficient, which meets the criteria.

High-efficiency cooling system (or no cooling system): CHECK!
We don’t have central air right now, although my husband keeps talking about it. We live in the country on a nice breezy hill, and there are only a handful of too-hot days each year that we can easily spend at my parents’ pool. Why pay for AC? (On a more selfish note: I LOVE the heat. Listen up, over-air-conditioned restaurants, offices and theatres: one should not be required to wear a sweater in the summer.)

Energy Star qualified or metal doors with no cracks or air gaps: CHECK!
All of our exterior doors are metal.

Good quality attic insulation: NO
I didn’t pay that much attention when we built our house (come on ladies, do any of you know your R-values off the top of your head??), but a quick look at our contract confirms that in our attic we have R40 blown insulation. The BMO criteria specifies R49 or higher, so I don’t think we can check this one off.

Energy Star qualified windows with no cracks or air gaps: NO
I think our windows are great (no cracks/gaps), but I don’t see an Energy Star sticker anywhere…

Energy Star qualified hot water system or solar or or tankless hot water system: NO
Again, no sticker..

At least three Energy Star qualified major appliances: NO
Can you believe the only sticker I found is on our dishwasher? I’m shocked that we didn’t buy any other Energy Star appliances!

Do you think it’s possible that I went around obsessively removing “Energy Star” stickers from every door, window and appliance after we moved in? Or maybe it was some sort of baby brain/”nesting” thing…I’m a little concerned.

Anyway, you need 6 out of the above 7 criteria to qualify for this special mortgage, so we would be out of luck with our three checkmarks…and we live in what I still consider to be a “new” house! We certainly won’t be investing in new windows or doors any time soon, but of course the next time we do, we’ll be going Energy Star all the way! We’ve also talked a lot lately about looking in to solar energy, so that might be next on the agenda.

How does your home rate? And more importantly, what about the giveaway I promised? Here you go:

To enter to win a $50 RONA Card, all you have to do is leave a comment about an eco-smart change that you have made, or plan to make, to your home. That’s it! Be sure to leave your email address if it’s not on your profile. If I can’t contact you, you can’t win!

For extra entries, once the mandatory entry has been completed, leave separate comments letting me know that:

  • You follow This Mom Loves publicly through Google Friend Connect
  • You subscribe to This Mom Loves through email
  • You follow @thismomloves on Twitter, and have tweeted about this giveaway (once in total). Feel free to use the following: “Win a $50 RONA GC from This Mom Loves http://tinyurl.com/3ojfkz7 “

Contest will close on Thursday, May 5th at 11:59 p.m. Eastern, after which time a winner will be chosen through random number generation. Good luck, and get Eco Smart!

Disclosure: I am participating in the BMO Eco Smart Mortgage program by Mom Central Canada on behalf of BMO – Bank of Montreal. I will receive a gift card as a thank you for my participation. Opinions are, as always, my own.
by | 108 Comments

108 comments on “$50 RONA Gift Card Giveaway: The BMO Eco Smart Mortgage”

  1. Awesome giveaway! My boys go to Rona almost every Saturday morning so this would be perfect for us!

    We're lucky with a house that is 4 years old so I'm pretty sure, going through that list, we'd be able to check them all off. So I'm not sure what I'd change exactly….

    Reply

  4. Where do I begin? When we first moved into our house we had NO insulation in the walls, old cracked windows, old wooden doors, an attic that was NOT insulated, need I go on?? That's what you get when you move into a house that's almost 100 years old!
    After living here 7 years we now have insulation in all of our walls, insulation in our attic, energy star windows and steel doors (and an empty pocketbook).
    Plus we don't keep our lights on EVER, you could say we're being energy efficeint, but cheap is probably a better word:)

    Reply

  19. We replaced the furnace in our home with a high efficiency furnace 2 years ago, right before Christmas when it broke down. We're also slowly replacing the windows in our home with Polar Windows.
    xjanelle at hotmail dot com

    Reply

  22. I bought all new appliances last year (kitchen and laundry) and we've just replaced our furnace and air conditioning with high efficiency models. I need to work on the windows and doors though!

    Reply

  31. I'm not sure if this is an eco thing or not, but we're thinking about putting carpet in our bedrooms. I think I read somewhere that it reduces the amount it takes to warm the house, which is eco friendly. Other than that, I do small eco-friendly changes to the house, like making my own curtains, making rag rugs out of old clothing etc. 😀

    Reply

  33. After buying this house we had extra insulation pumped into our attic (not sure of the rating off hand though). I think what we really need is new windows… Thanks for the giveaway. mybabyappleseed(at)yahoo(dot)ca

    Reply

  54. We recently installed a new energy-efficient furnace and had new insulation installed in our attic.

    arctic_teacher AT yahoo DOT ca

    Reply

  60. Our home is about 11 years old, but this summer we have organized a few upgrades including installing a Tankless Water Heater, updated attic insulation and putting on a new roof, plust we are replacing an old furnace. Please accept this as my mandatory entry. Thank you!

    Aliya D.
    aliyadaya(at)shaw(dot)ca

    Reply

  63. we have always recycled and did away with plastic bags and bottles along time ago, we now have low flow shower heads and taps, and i am on a big unplug campaign in my home as with 3 kids it seemed soo much was always plugged in, this one has been a adjustment but we are getting there, and i swtiched over to energy effiecient light bulbs , there is always more to do, but it is a start
    staceyx at telus dot net

    Reply

  75. We have recently bought an energy efficient front loading washer and dryer and we hope to purchase a new energy efficient freezer soon

    sweetpeg at gmail dot com

    Reply

  85. Ours house is only a couple of years old and we passed the check list with flying colours – yah! We do have a high efficiency air conditioner but I use it much more often than I should. My goal for this summer is to only turn use it on those really hot and humid days. We also live in the country and I need to take advantage of the great breezes we get.

    Reply

  95. We bought a 132 year old home last June. Since then we've insulated top to bottom. Purchased energy-star appliances in the kitchen and washing machine. We've also installed new insulated doors, and flow flush toilets and faucets. We also got rid of the old wood stove and installed an energy efficient pellet stove. We still have lots of work to do, and winning this card would definitely help, as every little bit helps get to the finish line.

    Thank you.

    shepherdcampbell@hotmail.com

    Reply

  97. We installed new windows last year this year we are planning on installing better doors than the antique one's that are currently in place
    fishinmomwantstowin at gmail dot com

    Reply

  101. We have put in energy efficient light bulbs in our home and purchased a rainbarrel to water our gardens this summer
    cleaningrhouse at yahoo dot com

    Reply

  102. We use energy efficient light bulbs in all fixture in our house and have quit using the old fashioned Christmas lights that use so much electricity. We also use timers on some lights.

    cyarrow53(at)yahoo(dot)ca

    Reply

  108. This is a great, and very useful contest! My family is currently looking into renovations and this prize would be a step in the right direction!

    Reply

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