SYDNEY, N.S. — After spending most of his adult life buying and renovating homes in the area, Dominic Tortola realized he has a lot of insight to offer to Cape Breton homeowners.
To pass that knowledge on he’s created DOMTOR Energy Services that helps homeowners create energy-efficient homes that are also healthy homes.
“I started this company because I recognized the need of something that is truly great,” the Sydney native said.
“It’s not about energy efficiency; It’s a part of it but it is the people that are in the homes that are important. It is the most important thing.”
Tortola discovered the many aspects of making a home energy efficient while accessing Efficiency Nova Scotia rebate programs for his properties. He has always understood the financial value of the rebates that are available to all homeowners but it was a need to understand much more about those assessments that inspired his company’s creation.
“When it comes from the performance end of it the home is a system, everything interacts with everything,” he said.
“It’s like when you get your vehicle inspected every two years, you need it to be inspected because it needs to be safe and it needs to be healthy for the environment. Your home is no different.”
DOMTOR combines his own experiences with added and extensive education on home inspections including certification as an energy advisor from Natural Resources Canada.
He said this all allows for an advanced home inspection that goes beyond a traditional home inspection.
His whole home performance analysis adds indoor air quality measures, heating system/HVAC efficiency and a complete energy analysis of a home.
Tortola said it all combines to give people an insight into everything going on in their home.
“Yes, people are going to save money on their power bills, I prove it every day,” he said.
“It’s all about numbers and a piece of equipment. The big downfall, what I’ve realized doing all this type of testing, is there is some major things that are being missed. People are doing things out of sequence and actually creating problems for themselves and the home.”
Tortola left a lucrative career working out west to begin his passion project at home in Cape Breton. He has funded the company out of his own pocket, is about to hire his first employee and expects to add more positions as people realize the value of his assessments.
“I want to help people. I never started the business because of money. If I was motivated by money, I would be out west. It’s not about that, it’s about creating jobs and helping people. That is the truth.”
Greg McNeil is a business reporter at the Cape Breton Post.
