Question 1

Does it make sense to schedule a home energy audit in Moncton before winter arrives so insulation upgrades can be completed before heating costs peak?

Accepted Answer

Absolutely — scheduling a home energy audit in Moncton this fall is one of the smartest moves you can make. Getting the audit done before winter allows you to identify and fix insulation problems before you're paying peak heating costs through another brutal Maritime winter.

Why Fall Timing Makes Perfect Sense

Moncton typically sees its first hard frost in early October, with sustained below-freezing temperatures starting in November. Once winter arrives, you'll be heating your home for six so

Question 2

What is the best time of year to schedule an energy audit in NB? | Insulation IQ?

Accepted Answer

Timing your energy audit strategically in New Brunswick can make the evaluation more accurate, more informative, and better positioned to connect to seasonal rebate application windows. While certified energy advisors operate year-round and can conduct valid EnerGuide evaluations in any month, late fall and winter are widely regarded as the optimal window for most New Brunswick homeowners.

The core reason is diagnostic clarity. The blower door test that anchors every certified energy audit meas

Question 3

How often should I have an energy audit done on my New Brunswick home? | Insulation IQ?

Accepted Answer

The frequency of energy audits in a New Brunswick home depends on your goals — whether you're tracking long-term performance, planning phased renovations, or accessing rebate programs — but a practical framework helps most homeowners decide when a new evaluation genuinely adds value.

For the average NB homeowner who has not recently undertaken any major energy upgrades, the most important audit is the first one: your baseline evaluation. If you've never had a certified EnerGuide evaluation done

Question 4

Can I get a free energy audit through NB Power programs? | Insulation IQ?

Accepted Answer

Yes — NB Power does offer subsidized energy audits as part of its Home Energy Efficiency Program, and for many New Brunswick homeowners the out-of-pocket cost is significantly reduced or, in some qualifying cases, effectively free depending on the program stream you access and your household income level.

The standard pathway for most NB homeowners is through NB Power's Energy Savings Program, which has historically partnered with certified energy advisors to perform pre- and post-retrofit Ener

Question 5

What should I prepare before an energy auditor visits my Dieppe home? | Insulation IQ?

Accepted Answer

Preparing your home properly before a certified energy auditor arrives is one of the best ways to ensure you get an accurate EnerGuide evaluation and the most useful upgrade recommendations. For homeowners in Dieppe — and across the greater Moncton area — a little advance preparation can save time during the appointment and help the auditor identify issues that might otherwise be missed.

The most important thing to gather in advance is your home's energy billing history. Pull together 12 months

Question 6

What EnerGuide rating should a well-insulated New Brunswick home achieve? | Insulation IQ?

Accepted Answer

The EnerGuide rating is Canada's official measure of a home's energy performance, expressed as a number from 0 to 100 — where 100 represents a home that produces as much energy as it consumes, and lower numbers indicate greater energy consumption. For New Brunswick homeowners considering insulation upgrades, understanding where your home sits on this scale — and where it should be — is one of the most valuable planning tools available.

A typical unimproved older New Brunswick home, particularly

Question 7

Do I need a pre and post energy audit for the Canada Greener Homes Grant in NB? | Insulation IQ?

Accepted Answer

Yes — both a pre-retrofit audit and a post-retrofit audit are mandatory requirements for the Canada Greener Homes Grant program, and this requirement applies to New Brunswick homeowners just as it does across all provinces. Neither audit can be substituted, waived, or performed out of sequence. The pre-retrofit audit must be completed before any eligible upgrades begin, and the post-retrofit audit must occur after the work is finished. Reversing that order or skipping either step disqualifies yo

Question 8

How does infrared thermal imaging detect insulation problems in NB homes? | Insulation IQ?

Accepted Answer

Infrared thermal imaging works by detecting surface temperature variations that are invisible to the naked eye but reveal exactly how heat is moving — or failing to be retained — within your home's building envelope. In New Brunswick's Climate Zone 6, where winter temperatures in Fredericton and the Saint John River Valley regularly drop to -15°C or colder, the physics that make thermal imaging so powerful are exactly the same physics that drive your heating bills: heat moves from warm areas to

Question 9

How long does a home energy assessment take in a New Brunswick home? | Insulation IQ?

Accepted Answer

A complete home energy assessment in New Brunswick typically takes between two and four hours, though the exact time depends on the size of your home, its age, and the complexity of the building systems involved. For a typical 1,500 to 2,000 square foot detached home — a common footprint in neighbourhoods across Moncton, Fredericton, and Miramichi — most homeowners should plan for approximately three hours.

The assessment is conducted by a Registered Energy Advisor (REA), a professional certifi

Question 10

What is the difference between an EnerGuide audit and a thermal scan in NB? | Insulation IQ?

Accepted Answer

These two assessment tools are often mentioned in the same conversation about home insulation, but they serve quite different purposes and produce very different types of information. Understanding the distinction helps New Brunswick homeowners make smarter decisions about where to spend their diagnostic dollars — and when they might benefit from using both.

An EnerGuide audit is a comprehensive, standardized home energy assessment conducted by a Registered Energy Advisor (REA) certified throug

Question 11

What improvements does an energy audit typically recommend for NB homes? | Insulation IQ?

Accepted Answer

A home energy audit in New Brunswick almost universally returns a consistent set of recommendations shaped by the province's Climate Zone 6 conditions, the age of the housing stock, and the construction practices of previous decades. While every home is different, the following improvements appear in the vast majority of audit reports across Fredericton, Moncton, Saint John, Miramichi, and rural NB communities.

Attic insulation upgrades are the single most common recommendation. The majority of

Question 12

Can an energy audit help me prioritize insulation upgrades in Saint John? | Insulation IQ?

Accepted Answer

If you own a home in Saint John and you're trying to figure out where your heating dollars are actually going, a professional energy audit is one of the most valuable investments you can make before spending a cent on insulation. Saint John's climate is notoriously challenging — the city sits in NB's Climate Zone 6, where January averages hover around -10°C and heating seasons stretch well past six months. Older homes in the South End, Uptown, and the lower west side were typically built with mi

Question 13

How do I find a certified energy auditor in Moncton NB? | Insulation IQ?

Accepted Answer

Finding a certified energy auditor in Moncton requires looking specifically for professionals registered under Natural Resources Canada's (NRCan) EnerGuide for Houses program. These individuals hold the designation of energy advisor (EA) and are licensed to conduct the blower door testing, whole-home assessment, and EnerGuide rating calculations that are required for NB Power rebates and the Canada Greener Homes Grant. A general home inspector, building contractor, or HVAC technician — even an e

Question 14

What does a blower door test measure in a New Brunswick home? | Insulation IQ?

Accepted Answer

A blower door test is a diagnostic tool used during a home energy audit to measure the air leakage rate of your home's building envelope. During the test, a certified energy advisor mounts a calibrated fan and frame system in an exterior doorway — usually the front door — seals the opening around it, and then depressurizes the home to a standardized pressure of 50 Pascals below outdoor air pressure. By measuring how much airflow the fan must maintain to hold that pressure difference, the auditor

Question 15

Is an energy audit required to get NB Power insulation rebates? | Insulation IQ?

Accepted Answer

Yes, a pre-retrofit energy audit is required to access the primary insulation rebates available through NB Power's Total Home Energy Savings program. The audit — conducted by a Natural Resources Canada registered energy advisor — establishes your home's baseline EnerGuide rating and documents existing insulation levels before any work begins. Without that pre-audit on record, NB Power cannot confirm the improvement achieved, and the rebate claim will be rejected. There are no exceptions to this

Question 16

How much does a home energy audit cost in Fredericton NB? | Insulation IQ?

Accepted Answer

A home energy audit in Fredericton typically costs between $400 and $600 for a full registered energy assessment conducted by a certified EnerGuide evaluator. This price reflects the comprehensive nature of the work: the auditor visits your home, performs a blower door test, inspects insulation levels throughout the building envelope, evaluates your heating and cooling systems, and produces an official EnerGuide rating with a detailed upgrade report. Some auditors may charge slightly more for la

Question 17

What is an EnerGuide home energy audit and do I need one in New Brunswick? | Insulation IQ?

Accepted Answer

An EnerGuide home energy evaluation is a standardized assessment of your home's energy performance conducted by a certified energy adviser (CEA) licensed by Natural Resources Canada. It's the foundational diagnostic step for understanding how your home uses energy, where it loses heat, and what upgrades will deliver the best return — and in New Brunswick, it's also the gateway to accessing thousands of dollars in federal and provincial rebates.

The evaluation has two components. The advisory vi

Energy Efficiency & Audits