Sharing the warmth in Mulgrave, Nova Scotia

Judy and Francis Welsh have been residents of Mulgrave, Nova Scotia their whole lives. Together with their family, they built their home in 1980 and have been living there ever since.

One of Judy’s sisters lives next door, and the other right down the street. They frequently pop over to borrow ingredients for baking, and always share their treats around the table in the Welsh’s kitchen. Being close to family is just one of the many reasons the Welsh’s love where they live.

A common problem in many older properties, Judy and Francis found their home cold and drafty, especially during the winter months. Judy explains, “All we had in the basement was Styrofoam on the walls.”

Trying to keep the drafts out and the heat in, Francis stuffed the doors and windows with Kleenex and newspaper. Though the couple still had to turn the furnace up past 20 degrees to keep the cold from seeping upstairs, which made their oil heating bills climb higher.

With no insulation, they couldn’t use the space in the basement and had to put coats and boots on just to go down and light the wood stove.

That all changed when Judy visited the MLA office in Guysborough and an employee helped her fill out an application for the HomeWarming program. HomeWarming helps income-qualified homeowners throughout Nova Scotia make their home more comfortable through no-cost energy efficient upgrades. It’s funded by the Province and Nova Scotia Power and administered in partnership by Efficiency Nova Scotia and Clean Foundation.

Within a few weeks of submitting the application, Trinity Maintenance Solutions, a partner of Efficiency Nova Scotia and delivery agent for the program, visited the Welsh’s home and installed many energy efficient upgrades at absolutely no cost.

Judy talks about the upgrades with a smile, “They put a dehumidifier in, a carbon monoxide detector, they insulated the attic, all the walls downstairs. It’s really warm and made such a difference. We’re very, very lucky.”

The process was simple, quick, and one that Judy and Francis are sharing with others in their community. “There was no mess. You’d never know they were here. It was just like Christmas morning, Francis and I getting all this work done for nothing,” Judy recalls.

Judy and Francis are now able to use the space downstairs, both for storage and for hobbies. Francis has transformed part of the basement into a studio he uses to create beautiful paintings of life on the coast and practices the fiddle by the woodstove – although now it’s used more for ambiance than heating.

The Welshes look forward to cozier winters with lower heating costs and continuing to enjoy the good things efficiency brings.

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HomeWarming has helped over 10,000 Nova Scotians save on heating costs and enjoy a more comfortable home. If you’re looking to improve your home’s efficiency and reduce heating bills, you can speak confidentially with a Service Advisor about your eligibility for HomeWarming.

For help getting started, call 1 877 434 2136 (toll free), or email homewarming@efficiencyns.ca

HomeWarming is a program that provides energy-saving home upgrades to income-qualified homeowners at no cost.

Clean Foundation delivers the program to electrically heated homes through a generous contribution from Nova Scotia Power.

Efficiency Nova Scotia delivers the program to non-electrically heated homes with funding from the Province of Nova Scotia.