On March 23, 2023, Alberta Ecotrust Foundation announced the launch of a first-of-its-kind-in-Canada pilot, Lightspark Engage — a free and user-friendly online platform that allows homeowners to assess their energy use, identify potential cost savings, and show how they could reduce their home carbon footprint.

With support from the Alberta Real Estate Foundation, this digital home energy labels pilot project for Edmonton and Calgary uses technology from Vancouver-based cleantech software company Lightspark. The platform uses publically available data to predict how much energy a home uses. In Alberta, carbon-based energy sources are prevalent, so creating efficiency is important for greenhouse gas emission reduction.

The Lightspark Engage platform provides this predictive label and goes one step further, giving an opportunity for homeowners to answer a few questions and learn more about actions they could take to improve their home’s energy and emissions performance.

Benefits to Homeowners and the Community

With Lightspark Engage, digital home energy labels are displayed on an interactive map so homeowners can easily compare the energy performance of different homes and understand the potential upgrades and retrofits that can be done to improve their home’s performance.

Alberta Ecotrust Foundation’s goal in supporting this initiative is to better inform the community on the emissions that are created in the residential sector and help drive actions to reduce them. Energy and emissions labeling can help Alberta Ecotrust Foundation achieve this by engaging homeowners, providing information on next steps, and guiding the community on the home retrofits that can reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

The platform will also empower regional REALTORS® to educate homeowners on energy efficiency while enabling their clients (both buyers and sellers) to include energy and emissions considerations in their decision- making process. Many new homeowners plan to conduct renovations as part of a home purchase or within a few years of purchase. Having energy and emissions information available at the time of sale can drive energy efficiency improvements and accelerate community emissions reductions.

Homeowners in Edmonton and Calgary can try Lightspark Engage at Lightspark.ca.

Learn more about Alberta Ecotrust Foundation and its Climate Innovation Fund.

This post was submitted by Alberta Ecotrust. If you live in Edmonton, or if your organization is based in Edmonton, and you have a climate change story to tell, let us know! Your story could be shared here too.