Habitat for Humanity is building energy efficient homes that are better for the environment and reduce the cost of homeownership for our Partner Families. Homeowner Collette is employed as a dietary aide at a Winnipeg High School. She has three children: two daughters, Lynn and Ashlee, and a son, Richmond.   “In my old rental the monthly heating and lighting bill in a normal January would have been $700 to $800. This was always really hard for me to pay and I was always trying to weatherproof the house more because my landlord wouldn’t do it. My Habitat house is so much more energy efficient. There are no drafts and the furnace is much better. I’ve been here for two Januarys now, and both were very cold but my total heat and light bill was less than $300 each time. It is much easier for me to save money in my Habitat house and I’m able to do more normal homeowner things like landscaping and building a patio. And because I was able to save so much money on utilities, I was also able to buy all the kids new bedroom furniture and that was the first time any of them had new beds.”   Winnipeg homeowner with children.

Home Energy Use Stats: There are more than 13 million homes in Canada 17 per cent of energy consumed in Canada is used to operate our homes ENERGY STAR qualified new homes (or other similar provincially administered Energy Efficiency Programs) are typically 30 per cent more energy efficient than those built to minimum building code standards Homes that are more energy efficient can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to three tonnes per year Energy-efficient HFH homes protect the pocketbooks of partner families as well as the planet for future generations