GreenSaver, a non-profit organization focused on energy conservation, is delivering Home Energy Help and will manage the renovations for qualifying residents, from beginning to end, using its team of professional contractors.
Improvements may include draft-proofing, new low-flow toilets, insulation and heating equipment upgrades. While at each home, GreenSaver will also provide items to reduce electricity use, such as power bars, compact fluorescent light bulbs, timers and clothes drying racks.
To qualify for Home Energy Help, homeowners must meet the income criteria and be a Toronto Hydro and Enbridge customer. Renters can also take part, as long as they pay their own utility bills and obtain their landlords consent.
Home Energy Help aims to service a minimum of 100 low-income residents in 2010 and 200 in 2011.
Once complete, participants are expected to save an estimated $300 to $500 on their annual energy bill. According to City of Toronto research, by upgrading 300 homes, the program is also expected to save about 328,000 Kilowatt hour of electricity and 415,000 cubic metres of natural gas each year, reducing annual greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 1,200 tonnes - an amount equivalent to powering two residential city blocks.
