Kari's Story

When Kari’s husband passed away suddenly, she and her daughter, Ella, made the difficult decision to leave British Columbia and return to Edmonton, where Kari was raised.  

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“I ended up buying my childhood home, my dad’s home. He lived here 50 years... and I grew up here. So, I bought the house and I hope to maybe someday pass it on to Ella, my daughter. [It’s a] multigenerational kind of home.”

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The house had been well cared for by her father, who meticulously documented decades of repairs and upgrades in a binder that took Kari three months to review and organize. But as much as she cherished the history within its walls, the house also presented challenges. Kari was especially concerned about her furnace and water heater. Despite doing her best to maintain and repair her home’s appliances, Kari knew these appliances would need to be replaced, yet upgrades felt out of reach on a fixed income.

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‍“My husband was the main breadwinner before. I’m on disability, so we came here – it was more economical to live here – but I don’t have the income that I used to,” she explained.

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Kari was familiar with programs that help homeowners improve affordability, such as rebates or incentives. In B.C., she had seen programs that provided basic energy efficiency kits with LED bulbs and weatherproofing supplies. But when she looked for similar help in Alberta, she found far fewer options. “I was looking for programs in Alberta, and there were not a lot! And if there were, they were loans, and I wasn’t looking for a loan. I needed something that would save me money from the start,” she recalled.  

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Her search led her to the Home Upgrades Program. “It sounded too good to be true, but what the heck, you know?” she laughed, “Can’t hurt to try!” Soon, Kari met Russ, Edmonton’s construction manager, who assessed her house and confirmed that her furnace, water heater, and attic insulation needed upgrades.

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When Edmonton’s first winter cold snap hit the city, Kari’s furnace broke down. “The power was on, but nothing was happening… That’s not great,” she said.

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The temperature inside the house dropped to 7°C, and Kari and Ella bundled up in winter coats, confined to two rooms with space heaters. She didn’t know whether to spend money on an emergency fix or hold out for the scheduled upgrades, but she reached out to Russ to check on the timeline. “I said, ‘Hey, I know this isn’t your problem, but do we have any idea of a schedule? This is the situation.’”

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Russ responded immediately: “Oh! Hold on, I will get right on it.” A week later, Kari had a brand-new high-efficiency furnace, a new hot water tank, and properly insulated attic spaces.

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‍“He worked a miracle. He got everything scheduled and finished so fast, and I still can’t quite believe it,” Kari shared. “Our furnace purrs like a kitten now, instead of running constantly. Our energy bills are lower. We finally have ample hot water; it used to be impossible to get a proper hot bath.”

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Kari, like her father, is meticulous when it comes to record-keeping, and she was especially appreciative of the program’s thorough documentation.

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‍“They gave me all the documentation for everything, so now I have it all in my home binder!”

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Reflecting on the experience, she sees the Home Upgrades Program as more than just an energy efficiency initiative — it’s a program that makes life easier for homeowners who might not have the time, resources, or connections to coordinate these upgrades themselves.

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‍“Even if you had the time and the money to do all this yourself, finding and coordinating the right contractors takes a lot. The house is a system, everything affects everything else. This program addresses it all in one go.”

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Now, Kari’s childhood home is not just warmer and more efficient: it’s a place she can pass down to her daughter, knowing it’s set up for the future.

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The program is made possible thanks to the generosity of our funding partners: Alberta Ecotrust Foundation, the City of Calgary, the City of Edmonton, ENMAX, the Alberta Real Estate Foundation, the McConnell Foundation, Suncor Energy Foundation, and Calgary Foundation.

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