Free Energy Assessment
A BES energy specialist assesses your building and identifies practical opportunities to reduce energy use and utility costs. The assessment is funded by FortisBC, with no cost or obligation to the building owner.
FortisBC Rental Apartment Efficiency Program (RAP) · Delivered by BES
Free Energy Assessments For BC
Rentals, Hotels And Care Homes
If you own or manage an eligible purpose-built rental apartment, hotel, motel or care home in British Columbia, the FortisBC Rental Apartment Efficiency Program (RAP) pays for a full building energy assessment, plus efficiency products supplied and installed at no cost to you or your tenants. BES is an authorised consultant on the programme: we carry out the assessment, handle the application, and take the incentives through to payment.
FortisBC has authorized BES as the sole company delivering Rental Apartment Efficiency Program (RAP) assessments
What The Programme Covers
Free Energy Saving Products
Eligible energy-saving products are supplied and installed free of charge. These may include water-efficient showerheads, kitchen and bathroom faucet aerators, insulation for uninsulated piping, and domestic hot-water pump controls.
Free Retrofit Engineering Support
BES prepares engineering drawings and specifications for larger upgrades at no cost, giving contractors a consistent scope for pricing. Projects may include rooftop units, heating and domestic hot-water systems, heat recovery and controls.
No Cost. No Obligation. No Hassle.
Eligible Buildings
Not sure whether your building qualifies? Send us the address and the FortisBC account and we will confirm in a day, before anything is committed.
- Purpose-built rental apartment buildings
- Non-profit and co-operative housing
- Hotels
- Motels
- Seniors residences and private care homes
- Mixed-use residential
Rebates By Building Type
The same FortisBC programme funds the assessment whether the building is a purpose-built rental block, a hotel, a motel or a care home. What differs is the measure list, the incentive route and how suite access is arranged.
Rental Apartment Rebates
Purpose-built rental apartment buildings with nine or more units. Free assessment, water-efficient showerheads and aerators, LED bulbs where the building is on FortisBC electricity, then incentives for boiler, domestic hot water, make-up air and controls upgrades.
Hotel & Motel Energy Rebates
Water-efficient showerheads and aerators in guest rooms cut hot water load across every occupied room. Beyond the free products, FortisBC incentives reach laundry, pool heating, kitchen make-up air and central plant replacement.
Care Home & Seniors Residence Rebates
Private retirement residences and licensed care homes qualify. Assessments are scheduled around resident routines, and hot water measures are specified to hold delivery temperatures required for care settings.
Programme Criteria
The RAP programme is published formally by FortisBC as the energy efficiency for rental apartments and accommodations program. Terms are reviewed annually, so we confirm current eligibility against your account before any site work is booked.
Official program information: FortisBC — Energy efficiency for rental apartments and accommodations program · FortisBC program FAQs
- Purpose-built rental apartment, hotel or motel with a minimum of nine rental units
- Natural gas and/or electricity under a commercial rate class from FortisBC, or municipal electricity in Grand Forks, Penticton, Summerland or Nelson Hydro
- Central natural gas or central electric water heating
- No water-efficient showerheads or aerators already installed
- Building not slated for demolition
- Owner, or a property manager acting for the owner, signs the application
What Happens, Step By Step
- 01
Screening Call
Twenty minutes to confirm building type, unit count, fuels and rate class, and to book an assessment date. There is no cost and no obligation at this stage.
- 02
Application
We prepare and submit the FortisBC application on your behalf. Allow a minimum of thirty days for FortisBC to process it. Approval comes before any site work.
- 03
Site Assessment
A BES energy specialist surveys the mechanical rooms, common areas and a sample of suites. Under the BC Residential Tenancy Act, you give tenants notice before suite access.
- 04
Report And Measure List
A written assessment with costed measures, energy savings, incentive value, payback and carbon impact, sealed under our EGBC permit and yours to keep for budgeting.
- 05
Product Installation
Showerheads, aerators and, where eligible, LED bulbs are installed on a weekday schedule agreed with your manager. A building representative accompanies the installers.
- 06
Upgrades And Incentive Payment
For larger retrofits we support tendering and construction review, then verify the completed work so FortisBC releases the incentive payment to you.
Why Owners Run It Through BES
We have delivered utility-funded assessments across British Columbia for fifteen years. The report is sealed by a professional engineer, the application paperwork is ours to handle, and the same team stays with the building from the screening call through to the incentive cheque.
- Authorised FortisBC RAP programme consultant
- ASHRAE Level 1 and Level 2 audits to the same standard
- Application, verification and claim handled end to end
Common Questions
Is The Assessment Really Free?
Yes. FortisBC funds the RAP assessment and the products for eligible buildings, and BES applies for that funding on your behalf. There is no charge to the building owner, no cost passed to tenants, and no obligation to proceed with any upgrade afterwards.
Who Qualifies?
Purpose-built rental apartments, hotels and motels with nine or more units, plus private retirement and care homes, on a FortisBC commercial rate class with central gas or central electric water heating. Send us the address and we will confirm.
Can Another Consultant Do It?
No. FortisBC authorises a single company to deliver the programme's assessments and in-unit measures, and that company is BES. Any building taking up the offer is assessed by our team, under the terms FortisBC publishes for the programme.
How Long Does It Take?
FortisBC needs a minimum of thirty days to process the application. After approval, the site visit is a single day for most buildings and the written report follows within two to four weeks, so most buildings run start to finish in about two months.
Do You Need Access To Tenants' Suites?
For a sample of suites during the assessment, and for every participating suite at installation. Under the BC Residential Tenancy Act you give tenants proper written notice; FortisBC can supply common-area posters to remind them of the date.
What Happens After The Assessment?
You receive a costed measure list with savings, incentive values and payback, sealed under our EGBC permit. We then help scope, tender and claim on whichever of the larger upgrades you pursue, at whatever pace suits your capital plan.
Do I Have To Commit To Upgrades?
No. The free products stay in regardless of what you decide next. The report gives you costed options with paybacks attached, but what you act on, and when, is entirely your decision and nothing is clawed back if you do nothing.
Hotel And Motel Rebates In BC?
BC hotels and motels with nine or more rental units on a FortisBC commercial rate class qualify for the same funded assessment and free water-efficiency products, plus incentives for laundry, pool heating, kitchen ventilation and central plant upgrades.
Care Home Rebates In BC?
Private retirement residences and licensed care homes in British Columbia are eligible under the FortisBC rental apartments and accommodations programme. The assessment is funded, the products installed free, and incentives apply to heating and hot water work.
Programme details, incentive values and terms are published and administered by FortisBC. BES is an authorised programme consultant, not the programme administrator. Terms are reviewed annually, so we confirm current eligibility against your FortisBC account before any site work is booked.
Reviewed September 2026 against the FortisBC program terms. Related: All Funding Programs · Energy Assessment Services · Talk To The Vancouver Office.