Energy retrofitting refers to the practice of improving a facility to make it more energy efficient. This can include a number of small fixes such as caulking windows, inserting covers on plugs, wrapping water pipes and weather-stripping doors. It can also include large-scale repairs such as improving the amount and type of insulation in walls and roofs.
The Train for Trades program conducts about 60 energy retrofits a year in social housing belonging to the Newfoundland Labrador Housing Corporation. This includes demolishing the existing drywall, mold remediation, improving insulation and rebuilding. Overall energy costs for the tenant decrease and the space becomes more useable as well.
“Back when I used to work in the basements as a support worker [a tenant] told me that her mom had hers done by us a year before I got hired and she was saving $800 a year. She was an elderly lady with not much income and that $800 went a long, long way. So now she got more food in the fridge and just a better sense of pride and love.” — Corey Foley, Youth Supports Coordinator
Pictured above are Train for Trades youth at a worksite.