Energy efficiency boosters were cheering about the details surrounding the revival of the province's Live-Smart program that provides rebates for home and business owners.

"I think what they are trying to do is make sure this stimulus keeps happening," said Peter Sundberg, executive director of the non-profit City Green Solutions, which provides audits and retrofits across B.C.

When the province announced in its March 2 budget that it was allocating $35 million to keep the program going, calls started coming into City Green office, Sundberg said. The organization has been eagerly waiting for LiveSmart to announce startup details.

To be eligible for rebates, participants need to complete pre-retrofit home energy assessments, anytime after April 1, 2010, and a post-retrofit assessment must be done before March 31, 2011. City Green is just one assessment provider. The Live-Smart website, livesmart.bc.ca, provides names of those able to provide this service.

The latest rebates are the same or close to those in the original 2008 program, said Sundberg, who considers them "relatively high."

Some examples -- an air source heat pump delivers a rebate of $1,420, wall insulation $400, EnergyStar gas furnace replacements $770, and Energy-Star windows and doors $30 each.

Air ceiling and draft proofing has a $250 rebate and it could end up being free for a homeowner who is handy, Sundberg said.

LiveSmart incentives are being provided in co-operation with provincial utility providers Terasen Gas, B.C. Hydro, and FortisBC. The partnerships are significant because utilities participate in improving energy efficiency and will be effective in getting the message out, Sundberg said, adding "this is exactly the type of collaboration we are going to need if B.C. is to achieve its climate change targets."

He is particularly pleased to see the province commit to LiveSmart because the federal government stopped giving grants last month under its ecoENERGY retrofit program to homeowners not already registered.

The original LiveSmart rebate program started in 2008 and closed to new entrants August 16, 2009.

LiveSmart not only helps reduce energy costs for building owners, but also provides jobs for companies installing energy upgrades and products, Sundberg said.

City Green charges $150 for each of the two assessments, Sundberg said.

The original LiveSmart has resulted in participants saving an average of 31 per cent a year on energy and an average of over 2.5 tonnes per year of greenhouse gas reductions by making their homes more energy efficient, said a release from B.C.'s Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources.

"The LiveSmart BC home energy efficiency program is an important part of our long-term, clean-energy vision and we are extending our provincial incentives to help meet our greenhouse gas emission targets and energy self-sufficiency goals," said minister Blair Lekstrom.

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