Do you have a leaky old house? Do you want to save on energy costs?  Wildsight wants to help you upgrade your home for energy efficiency.

This spring, two lucky homeowners, one in Kimberley and one in Cranbrook, will be the recipients of free upgrades to their homes as part of Wildsight’s Climate Solutions program. Their houses will become demonstration homes and if others lend a hand, they too, can learn how to upgrade their homes. On Earth Day weekend, April 20 and 21, the public is invited to tour the demonstration homes and learn about simple upgrades to reduce their carbon footprint and save some bucks.

Wildsight’s Climate Solutions coordinator, Lars Sander-Green said that the selected demonstration homeowners will receive a free energy assessment to highlight money and energy draining problems.

“A certified energy adviser will assess the house, and conduct a blower door test for air leakage,” said Sander-Green. “Then they will provide a list of potential energy upgrades with projected cost savings.”

He said an experienced contractor will work with volunteers to make energy efficient upgrades to the home.

“Homeowners will be expected to cover material costs,” said Sander-Green, “but will end up with a set of energy efficiency upgrades at a very low cost.”

He said upgrades will be designed to deliver the most energy savings for the lowest cost and effort.

So come out in April and join the fun – this is a great chance to get your hands dirty and build some confidence. Volunteers will have the chance to join a fun weekend work party on April 6 & 7 in Cranbrook of April 13 & 14 in Kimberley and to learn hands-on how to complete simple energy upgrades in their own homes. No experience or tool kit is necessary.

“Most people are pretty surprised how easy it is to make a few small changes that can make a big difference,” said Sander-Green.

Participants will also be able to take advantage of Wildsight’s $450 wood-stove exchange rebate so we can all breathe a little easier, and a low flow toilet rebate or a $500 rebate for solar hot water from the City of Kimberley.

Wildsight is now accepting applications for demonstration houses, so if you want your old, leaky, house to be one of our demo projects or want to volunteer to help out, get in touch with Lars Sander-Green at [email protected] or 250-427-2535 x 227. For more information on Wildsight’s Climate Solutions projects, including composting workshops, waste reduction, biomass heating, carshare, and vanpool, visit Wildsight.ca/Climate.

This project was undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Federal Department of the Environment.

Wildsight

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