The SaskEnergy Home Energy Efficiency Project (HEEP) is an initiative where volunteers from the community – along with help from SaskEnergy and its partners The Salvation Army and SIAST – retrofit up to 100 low-income households (a combined annual income of $45,000 or less) with energy efficient products to promote energy efficiency across our province.

Not only will each retrofitted household be doing its part to become more energy efficient, the retrofits have the potential to save homeowners up to $100 annually on their utility bills.

Products used in HEEP include: programmable thermostats, weather stripping kits and shrink film for windows, among other things. Up to $200 worth of energy efficient products are installed in each household. These products are absolutely free for all households who participate in the project. In fact, there have been a few cities that have shown their support and sponsored the water saving products used in HEEP.

So far, 1,954 households across Saskatchewan have been retrofitted with products provided by HEEP. To date, 18,000 HEEP volunteer hours have been dedicated to help 1,954 families in 40 different communities.

In 2009, the SaskEnergy Home Energy Efficiency Project implemented a new Rural Community Initiative that saw the communities of Yellow Grass, Shellbrook and Wilkie receive HEEP days as well as $5,000 grants that were put towards community improvement projects that everyone could benefit from. Wilkie put the grant towards a new floor in the town's hockey rink, Shellbrook will be installing new windows, weather stripping, energy efficient light bulbs and attic insulation into their museum and Yellow Grass will be making interior and exterior renovations to the seniors drop-in centre.

Apply today for the 2010 SaskEnergy Home Energy Efficiency Project – a community program offered to selected Saskatchewan families to help warm up their winter.