Did you know that 58% of Toronto’s total emissions come from buildings, including our homes? And that almost 90% of your home’s emissions come from heating and cooling?

The Greener Homes Bedford Park community group is a collection of residents in the Bedford-Wanless Park neighbourhood who are focused on updating our homes to be healthier, more comfortable and energy-efficient, while reducing our environmental footprint in the process. When we come together to share knowledge, resources and support, we can go farther than we can individually.

We are primarily focused on electrifying our home heating, cooling and appliances to remove the need for natural gas and reduce overall energy use. The most common upgrades are heat pumps, electric water heaters, induction stoves and electric BBQs and fireplaces, as well as home insulation improvements if needed.

Our group will leverage the program being implemented by the Toronto Home Energy Network, a non-profit that supports initiatives like ours across our city to help Toronto residents create healthier homes and improve our environment. Their approach was inspired by the Pocket Change project and their website is a very helpful resource.