Design  your new home to be energy efficient 

Building a New Home in New Brunswick

New Brunswick’s New Home Build Energy Efficiency Program: A Brighter Future for Homeowners

New Brunswick is taking a significant leap towards a sustainable future with its enhanced New Home Build Energy Efficiency Program. This initiative isn’t just about saving energy; it’s about empowering homeowners, boosting the provincial economy, and creating a healthier environment. For those looking to build a new home, understanding this program, especially its connection to solar energy, is key to unlocking substantial long-term value.

What is the New Home Build Energy Efficiency Program?

This program is designed to encourage and incentivize the construction of energy-efficient new homes across New Brunswick. It offers rebates and support for builders and homeowners who choose to incorporate advanced energy-saving measures into their new constructions. The goal is to reduce energy consumption, lower utility bills, and decrease greenhouse gas emissions.

Benefits for Homeowners: More Than Just Savings

For homeowners, participating in this program offers a multitude of advantages that go beyond immediate energy bill reductions:

1. Significant Financial Savings:
• Reduced Energy Bills: The most direct benefit is lower monthly heating, cooling, and electricity costs. Homes built to higher energy efficiency standards require less energy to maintain comfortable temperatures.
• Rebates and Incentives: The program offers financial rebates for meeting specific energy efficiency targets, helping to offset the initial investment in energy-efficient technologies. These rebates can range significantly depending on the level of efficiency achieved.
• Data Point: According to Natural Resources Canada, an average Canadian household spends approximately $2,284 on energy annually. Highly energy-efficient homes can reduce these costs by 20-50% or more, translating to hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in annual savings.
2. Increased Home Comfort and Value:
• Superior Comfort: Energy-efficient homes are typically better insulated, sealed, and ventilated, leading to more consistent temperatures throughout the house, fewer drafts, and improved indoor air quality.
• Higher Resale Value: Homes with documented energy efficiency ratings and features are increasingly attractive to buyers, often commanding higher resale values. This is because future owners also benefit from lower operating costs and a more comfortable living environment.
• Data Point: A study by the Appraisal Institute of Canada found that homes with energy-efficient features can sell for up to 9.4% more than comparable, less efficient homes. This translates to a significant return on investment when it comes time to sell.
3. Environmental Impact and Future-Proofing:
• Reduced Carbon Footprint: By consuming less energy, these homes contribute directly to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, helping New Brunswick meet its climate change targets.
• Resilience and Future Adaptability: Building with energy efficiency in mind makes your home more resilient to fluctuating energy prices and potential future carbon taxes. It’s an investment in a sustainable future.
• Data Point: Each kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity saved in New Brunswick, where a significant portion of power comes from fossil fuels, prevents approximately 0.4 kg of CO2 from entering the atmosphere. Over a year, this can amount to tons of CO2 reduction per household.

The Value of Solar: Powering Your Energy-Efficient Future

Integrating solar photovoltaic (PV) systems into your new energy-efficient home amplifies all the benefits of the program. Solar energy is a natural partner for energy efficiency, creating a powerful synergy:

• Net-Zero Potential: With a highly energy-efficient home, a smaller solar array is needed to achieve net-zero energy consumption, meaning your home produces as much energy as it consumes annually. This significantly reduces or even eliminates your electricity bills.
• Enhanced Rebates and Incentives: Many energy efficiency programs, including those potentially offered in New Brunswick, provide additional incentives or higher tier rebates for homes that incorporate renewable energy sources like solar.
• Energy Independence and Grid Resilience: Generating your own electricity reduces your reliance on the grid, providing a sense of energy independence and potentially making your home more resilient during power outages when paired with battery storage.

Quick comparison of most relevant attributes

Sources: .

Three value points (concise, homeowner-focused)

1. Save money year‑after‑year — Investing in higher-efficiency new builds lowers annual heating and electricity costs, especially in New Brunswick’s cold winters where heating is the largest household energy use; program-aligned homes reduce demand on grid-supplied power and homeowner bills.
2. Future‑proof against policy and market shifts — With recent code updates and program changes in 2025, building above minimum standards helps avoid early obsolescence and keeps homes attractive to buyers and eligible for future incentives.
3. Amplify value with solar — Adding rooftop solar reduces net electricity purchases, pairs well with efficient homes (smaller system needed to cover loads), and increases resilience during peak events or outages; combining efficiency and solar yields a higher return on investment than solar alone.

Data and evidence that supports the program

• The provincial Save Energy initiative emphasizes that reducing demand through efficiency strengthens grid reliability and delays costly infrastructure expansion.
• Program information notes criteria and incentives were updated on June 5, 2025, to align with higher efficiency building-code requirements, signaling provincial commitment to making new builds more efficient.
• Conservation and policy analyses show targeted efficiency investments improve affordability for low-income households and reduce energy poverty, demonstrating social as well as financial returns from program-driven upgrades.

How solar ties in (practical value points)

• Smaller, cheaper solar systems — An efficient home uses less electricity, so a smaller solar array can meet a larger share of annual demand, lowering upfront solar costs and shortening payback time.
• Better economics and resilience — Solar offsets utility bills during daylight and can integrate with battery storage for backup power; net-zero or near-net-zero outcomes become more achievable when efficiency is prioritized first.
• Increased marketability — Homes that advertise high efficiency plus on-site solar attract eco-conscious buyers and can realize higher resale value, especially as energy costs and carbon considerations grow.