The City of New Westminster’s Energy Save New West continues its legacy as a leader, standing as one of Canada’s longest-running and most comprehensive community programs for energy efficiency and carbon reduction. We are pleased to report on our significant 2025 achievements and announce new initiatives that will be critical in driving the program’s growth and efforts to achieve our climate goals in the year ahead.
We are deeply grateful for the community’s support of Energy Save New West. Building on a successful 2025, we’re excited to introduce expanded program solutions and support in 2026, featuring:
- Solar PV & Battery Storage Rebate Program will be available to local residents offering up to a $10,000 rebate!
- Homeowner Webinar Series on Heat Pump Retrofits will be hosted by Ecolighten Energy Solutions in 2026 Q1 to share best practices and latest information to support a quality installation with heat pump retrofits.
- Industry Capacity Building activities will continue:
- Spring and Fall 2026 Builder & Designer Breakfast events to support green building capacity.
- F280-12 Part 2 and ESC/ZCSC Training Sessions for City Staff
- New and Updated Technical Bulletins to be published on Energy Step Code and Zero Carbon Step Code.
- Empower Me program extension to continue providing support to underserved communities.
Total participants in Existing Homes
since the program launched in 2012.
e-Newsletter subscribers and
12 monthly newsletters issued.
Residents participated in the BC Home Energy Planner pilot and program, and CNW had one of the highest participation rates among the participating municipalities.
Residents participated in the BC Hydro direct installation program, receiving free portable air conditioning between January 1st, 2025 and November 30th , 2025.
Residents joined the Stride Pilot to test new Properate technology, which uses a mobile phone-based AR solution to simplify the in-home energy evaluation process. The scans will now also include F280-compliant load calculation reports to help with better sizing of heating and cooling systems.
Climate Friendly Homes Tour hosted by the City in partnership with Community Energy Association (CEA) and New Westminster Climate Action Hub (NWCAH) featured 9 homes that shared their climate friendly stories. The Sustainable Home Info Sessions, hosted by NWCAH, were a huge success, attracting over 170 attendees! The strong interest from visitors clearly demonstrated a high enthusiasm for sustainable home technologies!
Municipal Heat Pump and Electrical Service Top-Ups issued (January to September) with 159 Rebates issued to date.
The City supported residents with increased top-up for all-electric central heat pumps and electrical service upgrades. The program is now closed.
These top-ups result in:
Energy Savings
GHG Emissions Reductions
Increased Awareness
Promoting program updates and latest incentives from BC Hydro, FortisBC, Province of BC’s Clean BC Better Homes and federal government’s Greener Homes Loan (discontinued) to homeowners looking to access rebates and financial support for home energy upgrades.
Multi-language workshops hosted by Empower Me to support equity and inclusion for hard-to-reach communities in New Westminster. In 2025, approximately 180 participants attended Empower Me’s energy-efficiency and electric vehicle (EV) workshops. Empower Me also participated in 3 New Westminster community events, providing local multicultural communities with Summer Heat Preparedness and energy efficiency information.
Total participants in High Performance
New Homes program to date
e-Newsletter subscribers and
12 monthly newsletters issued.
High Performance New Homes completed to date.
Better energy performance achieved new homes built in New West compared to code-built homes.
Average GHG Reduction
Better Airtightness
(avg. 2.13 ACH @50 Pa) versus industry average
Attendees to Spring & Fall 2025 Builder & Designer Breakfast eventshosted by the City of New Westminster.
- Spring 2025 Online Event: Keynote – Electrical Load Strategies in New Construction and Renovations
- Fall 2025 In-Person Event: Keynote – Electrical Load Strategies in New Construction and Renovations (Part 2)
Capacity Building and Training Session for City Staff, hosted by Ecolighten Energy Solutions on Right Sizing Heating & Cooling Equipment with CSA F280-12
Embodied Carbon Pilot was launched for Part 9 builders and designers focused on reducing embodied carbon emissions from building materials.
Expressions of interest were received by ESNW and referred to the Rental Apartment Retrofit Accelerator (RARA) and Strata Energy Advisor (SEA) programs.
34
in the RARA and SEA programs this year!.
New In-suite Heat Pump Rebate programs (regular and income eligible) launched by CleanBC and BC Hydro for condos and rental buidlings to support Multi-Unit Residential (MURB) residents with energy efficiency and climate resiliency.
Increased Awareness
MURB programs, supported through BC’s Retrofit Accelerator Program, were promoted by the City of New Westminster/Energy Save New West via mailout and online platforms.
BC Green Business Pilot was launched, and four local businesses participated this year with two already achieving Gold and Green Certification.
Total renewable energy generated to date by the Urban Solar Garden solar arrays located at the Queensborough Community Centre & City Public Works Yard.
Smart Thermostat
Mysa campaign launched in December 2024 with new Mysa lite technology.
Since 2020, a total of 3,562 baseboard smart thermostats and 50 in-floor units have
been sold, resulting in an equivalent energy savings of
505,680 kwh/year
New Resources
New infosheets on various topics to support local residents with energy efficiency and climate resiliency are now available: Cooling Infosheet(multi-language versions coming soon!), and Renters Guide to Energy Efficiency (also available in Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, and Punjabi)
Climate Action and Step Codes
The City endorsed the Energy Step Code (ESC) 5/EL-2 Moderate Carbon or ESC 4/EL-4 Zero Carbon Ready for Part 9 Residential New Construction, and ESC 4/EL-1 or ESC 3/EL-4 for Part 3 Multi-Family Residential Buildings—taking a step closer to a carbon-free future.
Increased Awareness
Promotion of City’s Summer Heat Preparedness information, programs, and incentives for air conditioning to local residents.
Website Updates
Visit energysavenewwest.ca to explore new blog posts, e-newsletter archives, and resource section!